


Parasitic

by KiwiOwlKatt



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Physical Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Abuse, abusive language, this will probably get kinda angsty, will add more tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:41:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwiOwlKatt/pseuds/KiwiOwlKatt
Summary: (My own take writing an "Angel needs to get away from Valentino and gets some help from Alastor" kinda thing .w.; )After borrowing Angel for a separate demon's deal, their lives begin to become intertwined.The only problem is that Valentino isn't too happy about it, and Alastor is going to need to make a choice.
Relationships: Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 96
Kudos: 465





	1. Same Story, Different Day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey sooo... I haven't written a fan-fiction since I was a kid on DeviantArt way back when. I'm gonna try and get back into writing. So this is both just something I've been wanting to write, as well as a bit of a warm up.
> 
> This is also going to lead up to Alastor/Angel being a thing. So if that's not your style, please don't read what you don't want to see ;v;/
> 
> Please excuse the possibility of writing OOC. I've never posted any of my fanfictions in such a long time and I used to be TERRIBLE, so here's hoping this isn't as bad, and that I'm not too ooc.  
> Thanks to anyone that decides to give reading this a shot! ^v^

Things were getting worse. In fact, things were _always_ getting worse. He couldn't remember just how many times he told himself _"this is getting worse."_ with intention of doing something about it, but in the end, never following through.

It wasn't so much his job itself that was worse, it was more-so his boss, Valentino.   
Valentino was a sickeningly sweet kind of deceitful. One that lured his prey in with kind words and sweet promises. He was someone that, in the beginning, might even make someone feel a little _hopeful_ for their future.

But that was before the parasite would sink his teeth down into the all-too-oblivious soul, that he saw fit to be his next play thing.

Unfortunately, Angel Dust had become that next play thing.  
Part of him even knew that.  
Part of him wanted to desperately run away, somewhere very far off, and never be near that monster ever again.

The other part of him wouldn't let him go though. He couldn't let go of old memories, and sweet moments. Days where he thought he had felt love.  
Days when he thought _he_ had been loved.

He clung to these "old times" so much that he had to wonder if it was actually him being the parasite instead of Val.

  
So here he was.   
Walking back towards the hotel, along a relatively quiet street. His body ached, and his legs only made this walk worse than it was on most bad days. They felt almost numb right now.

  
When he reaches the hotel doors, he pauses and makes a quiet plea that no one is down in the main lobby right now. It's not that he had anything against anyone. He actually normally enjoyed the company of the hotel staff. But tonight..? Tonight he just wanted to rest.  
He didn't want to be asked any questions.   
He didn't want to talk to anyone.   
He just wanted to retreat to his hotel room, and thoroughly wash himself off.

He takes in a deep breath, and quietly opens the door and steps inside and . . .

Thankfully, it's quiet and empty inside at the moment. Good. He doesn't have to explain the black eye he got, or why he's walking with a bit of a limp.   
Thank fuck, no one is here right now.

He sighs with relief and quickly makes for the stair case to get to his hotel room.

* * *

Once inside his room at last, he shuts the door behind him quietly, and makes sure it's locked good.  
...  
_Really_ good.  
Maybe that was a little bit of paranoia getting to him.  
  


Angel wastes little time undressing, and getting under a hot shower to clean himself of the filthy feeling he felt all over himself.  
It wasn't from work.  
It wasn't even from the _gross_ clients he had.  
It was because of his boss.

He always felt sick to his stomach when Val touched him these days, and yet, he couldn't really quite explain why.  
Surely he wasn't _that_ screwed up over Val, right? 

He was still feeling sick, he needed to scrub a little harder.

Even just thinking about Val made him feel sick inside.  
Not just from the memories of the recent days, but even remembering the sweeter days between the two of them made his skin crawl.  
He just couldn't explain _why_.

All he knew was that he needed to scrub at himself even harder to feel clean.

* * *

He'd finished his _very_ thorough shower. Got himself dried off, and into a light, pink night shirt that covered him down to the middle of his thighs.  
It was comfy to relax in, and that's exactly what he was going to do.  
Relax. ... And probably pass out and sleep anyway.

Though, before exiting the bathroom, he took a moment to look in the mirror. He knew he'd been hit really hard in the face today, but he had yet to see just how bad the bruising was this time.  
"What's the damage this time..." He mumbled to himself.

The bruising was _way_ worse this time.

The black eye was definitely noticeable, and it certainly wouldn't be all that easy to cover up even with all the make up he owned.  
Still, he would figure it out.  
He had to.

The rest of his face didn't seem to have any visible bruises or cuts. He knew his leg was bruised, but it wasn't too serious. It would probably go away in a few days.  
It had been a rough day, but it could have been worse, right?  
That's what he told himself anyway.  
And when it _did_ get worse, he still didn't have it in him to change anything.

  
With all of that done, it was time to retire to his bed. Maybe watch some tv. 

He stepped out of the bathroom, looking forward to lying down in the comfort of his bed after a long, and tiring day.  
Except it wasn't his bed he ended up laying his eyes on.

Of all the demons he'd expect to find standing idly in his bedroom, the last he would have thought it would be, was Alastor.

Yet here he was. Standing in the middle of Angel's hotel room with that familiar, mildly threatening grin of his.

"Ah, Angel!! There you are! Let's have a chat, I think we may be able to help each other." 


	2. Ten O' Clock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor and Angel have a little chat, and are preparing to make a deal. Unfortunately, Alastor withheld a bit of information that Angel wished he'd known before they shook on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhhh first:  
> Thanks to the people that read my first chapter and even left kudos' or bookmarked it. That means a lot to me ;v; thanks so much!
> 
> Second:   
> You might find this chapter a little bit on the boring side.  
> It was both here for set up and uhh.. A little of on the spot practice writing in character for the two of them before I got deeper into the story.  
> The 3rd chapter will have a lot more going on, promise!!

_"Ah, Angel!! There you are! Let's have a chat, I think we can help each other."  
  
_

Angel just stood there and stared at the dapper demon for a few moments. He was a little startled, and _really_ confused.

"Uh... I- Wait.. You want my help? I- HEY WAIT A SECOND!" 

Angel crosses a pair of his arms over his chest, the other pair on his hips, while he takes a few steps towards Alastor.

"Why are you in my room? Get out!!" Normally he'd enjoy the rare and kind of entertaining visits from Alastor, but he was just _SO_ tired right now.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're quite done in!" And like always, Alastor seemed to be more than aware about how Angel was currently feeling, and he STILL had the nerve to bother him right now!

"But this will only take but a moment, so if you don't mind and-" Angel was sure to cut Alastor off right there.  
"Actually, I kinda _do_ mind! I gotta comfy lookin' bed with my name on it! So if _you_ don't mind, I'd like to get some use of out it tonight." 

Angel had no problem letting the tone of his voice express just how irritable he was at the moment. Okay, yeah, Alastor was the big bad "Radio Demon", but come on! Angel was _JUST_ about to hit the sack!   
He wasn't about to let any spooky demon keep him apart from his bed.

Oddly enough, Alastor found Angel's lack of hesitation and outright fear intriguing to say the least. Alastor definitely reveled in the sight of other demons and lost souls cowering in fear from just the mention of his name, but he'd be lying if it didn't get just the tiniest bit boring every now and then. Angel kept things strangely fresh.

Alastor maybe even admired it.  
Angel could care less at the time, however.

He groans, rolling his eyes and dropping his arms when Alastor doesn't move and his only response seemed to be an even more devious grin. Angel made his way towards his bed, while also nudging Alastor slightly out of his way, but the Radio Demon made a bit more of a response this time.

Just when Angel was just _inches_ away from finding the coziness of his bed, Alastor grabbed one of his arms and stopped him. The grip he had was oddly not at all that tight or threatening though.

"Angel, I'm aware of a little _problem_ you've been having for quite some time now," 

Angel turns to give Alastor a bit of a grumpy stare.  
"Ya think? I'm tryin' to get some fuckin' sleep!!"

Alastor shakes his head and gives a low chuckle in response.  
"Oh I think that's the least of your problems." 

Alastor lets go of Angel's arm, but Angel doesn't continue to his bed. He's silent for a moment, no longer looking at the Radio Demon. 

Alastor takes the prolonged silence as a cue to continue speaking.  
"I only chose to speak to you about this now because your _incident_ is still fresh in your mind. Isn't that right?" 

Alastor tilts his head ever so slightly, with that relatively sweet smile of his. That fairly charming, almost friendly tone he'd have from time to time. It made Angel want to speak to him _more_. Made him want to believe in what Alastor was going to promise him but...

He'd heard more than enough from _both_ Charlie and Vaggie about Alastor, and deal-making. Because that's what this was going to be right? Alastor never _willingly_ came by to talk to Angel. Not until now, where he clearly wanted something from Angel.

Again, the silence only confirmed Alastor that his assumptions were more than correct, and so he continued to speak.  
"If you want to stay in denial about it, then that's fine. But in the mean time, if you're not too busy tomorrow, I'd like you to run a few errands for me."

Angel narrowed his eyes a little at the accusation of him being in denial.   
Pfft, denial? Over what? Nothing, that's what!!  
Though, he decided to let it go at the moment. He had to admit, he was kind of curious what Alastor, A.K.A. the Radio Demon, _the most terrifying demon in hell_ , could _possibly_ want Angel's help for.

"Run some errands?" He paused for a moment, but then nodded when he thought he knew what Alastor meant.

"Ooohh! Okay, okay. I get it. Yeah, I can run some 'errands' for ya. How much are ya paying me? And where are we doin' it? Here? It'll cost you more if it's outside the bedroom though," Angel's tone and expression get a little seductive as he talks, but Alastor responds before Angel can continue any further with this topic.

"Augh!! Angel, no!!" Angel made it incredibly difficult to keep a grin on his face.  
"I want you to do a few things for me, but not _that_!" Alastor sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose in mild frustration.  
"How did you even take it that way? I actually attempted to make that sound- Oh nevermind!"

Angel shrugs and sits on the edge of his bed.  
"Okay well to be fair, you are asking a _porn star_ for help, so I don't know what you were expectin',"

Alastor sighs, doing his best to get the conversation back on track.  
"Fine then. You don't want me to fix your very _obvious_ problem? That makes things quite a lot easier. What do you want then?"

Angel perks up a bit.  
"Oh that's right! You kinda double as like a magic genie right?"  
"...Yes." Alastor responds, giving only the utmost blankest of impatient stares. If that made the conversation go by any quicker, then that was fine by him.

"Great!! So I can wish for _anything_ right?"  
"More or less, yes."

Angel starts to go on excitedly about all of the very simple things he could wish for.  
New clothes, more money, a bigger room? He named all kinds of things before finally trailing off, and growing oddly quiet.

Alastor raises his brow in curiosity. At first the silence made him assume that Angel had finally thought about what he wanted, but his tone and expression had turned into something that was... A little somber.

Alastor clears his throat, mostly to get Angel's attention back.  
"Have you chosen something?"

Angel doesn't respond right away. His gaze had since fallen to a pair of his hands, that were now wringing together on his lap, nervously.

Angel had thought about new clothes, more money, a bigger room, but then he thought about some cool things he could make up for his precious pet pig Fat Nuggets. Though, that little pig of his was already pretty spoiled.  
He had thought a little harder.  
When material things failed to keep his interest, he moved onto thinking about experiences he wanted.  
Maybe there was something he'd always wanted to do?

Amusement park? Nah.  
Deep sea diving? Not really.  
Going to the movies? That was something he's done before, but... They were never that much fun by himself.

In fact... Doing any of these things didn't really interest him if he were by himself.

That final thought brought on a wave of _something_ that he didn't want to feel. He realized just how lonely he might actually be.  
He dealt with other people (or demons) a lot, but a couple guys just looking to have some fun wasn't really the same as having someone that you're close with, doing something nice with you.

Though, this train of thought was gone pretty quickly when Alastor spoke up again.  
"Oh come now Angel, there must be _something_ you want! Just tell me so I can stop standing here wasting my own ti-"  
"Take me out somewhere."

Alastor nearly choked on his words.  
"E... Excuse me?"

Alastor was a _little_ caught off guard, but he started chalking this up to "Angel wanting to engage in intercourse".  
"Absolutely not. You have plenty of that 'entertainment' with your life as it is, yes?"

Angel finally raises his head, making eye contact with Alastor at last.  
"No. I don't want any of that. I just..." He pauses for a moment. This was starting to sound stupid, but he'd already said it. It felt even stupid-er to go back on it now.

"Just... I just want to pretend I'm going on a nice date or something."  
"Very well, I will find you a willing participant, and-"

Angel was getting really lucky that Alastor hadn't snapped his neck for interrupting him so many times tonight.  
"No!! I don't want to go on a date with just any fuckin' demon!! Almost anyone you ask is gonna say yes to goin' on a date with me! I just want something that feels kinda _normal_." 

The room grew silent again. Alastor was still quite surprised by Angel's request. It was so simple, and so different from what he would have expected.  
Despite how predictable Angel often seemed to him, the spider still managed to surprise him now and then. It was ... Pleasant.

Angel spoke up again. Even just a few moments of silence were killing him right now.  
"I'm not looking to like... Hook up or anything... I just want to feel like I'm having a normal date, just once."

Alastor places his index finger against his chin in thought for a moment, before answering Angel again.  
"I suppose I can work with those terms, if you insist. But I will not be partaking in any of those _vulgar_ activities you so enjoy."

Angel perks up a little when he hears that Alastor is willing to go along with it.  
"Pfft, listen Smiles, if I wanted somethin' like that, I don't need a genie demon to make that happen for me!"

Alastor only rolls his eyes in response. He was hoping Angel didn't keep referring to him as "Genie Demon". That was a lot dumber sounding than "Radio Demon".   
He didn't need the rest of hell start calling him something like that.  
  
"So, shall we make this an official deal? I don't have all night you know!" Alastor is back with that devilishly sweet grin of his, about to extend his hand, when Angel stops him. Again.

"Hey wait!! You didn't tell me what I'd be doing!!"  
"Oh, relax. It's nothing foreign for you. Some other demon has promised to return a favor to me if I could get him in to see you 'privately' without pay."

Angel does not like to hear that. His expression and tone immediately go from excitement and curiosity, to absolute disgust.  
"No pay? Listen, I'm not just some street corner slut! I provide a service, and I don't come cheap!"   
Angel crosses his arms over his chest again.

"Oh please. Don't be concerned with that. I'll just pay you myself. Getting money is an incredibly easy feat for me. So you will still be paid for your 'service'."

Angel sighs and seems relatively relaxed again.  
"Okay, fine."   
"Yes, so _now_ are you ready to make a deal?"

Again, Alastor puts on that charming, lovely grin of his. One that Angel finds both a huge warning sign, and yet oh-so desirable to see more often.

Alastor extends a hand, an eerie green glow seems to emit from his palm much like when he'd tried to make a deal with Charlie. The whole room appears to be flooded with it's uncertain green glow, and ominous wind that... Angel wasn't quite sure where it was even coming from.

He didn't particularly have anything to fear with this deal right? Angel _knew_ what he would be doing for Alastor here. It wasn't like he just owed the Radio Demon some random favor at some point down the line.  
No, he knew what he would be doing for Alastor, and he knew what he was getting in return for it.

Still, he felt unease as he stood up, and hesitantly took Alastor's hand to seal the deal.   
Once their hands took one another firmly, the light, the wind, (and the ominous sounds that came along with it) all but seemed to implode down into their hands until it had all completely disappeared, and the room went back to appearing to be as normal as if nothing had happened in the first place.

Angel looked around the room both out of curiosity, and a little concern.   
"Why do you need such a big light show for a handshake, anyways?"  
"Oh, because both mine and your souls are bound by the deal we strike together. So no backing out, understand?" Alastor smiles sweetly, though there's this threatening undertone to it that Angel just can't quite shake.

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like what you're askin' me to do is anything I haven't done before."

Angel sat back down on his bed, very much longing to let his head hit those plush looking pillows.

"Yes well... I'll see you tomorrow then about ten 'o clock, P.M. Sounds good? I'm sure it does, I'll meet you at that er... _Less appealing_ motel two streets down then. Goodnight!" Alastor didn't give Angel any time to speak in between his words, and disappeared almost instantly after saying "Goodnight".

It was _now_ that Angel felt a little worried.  
His shift didn't end until midnight. 

How was he supposed to explain this to Val?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so thanks for sticking around for the whole chapter if you did! Hope I'm doing okay .v.;;
> 
> I know this chapter is a little uneventful, but next one is going to have more going on!
> 
> Thanks again for anyone that's stuck around. ;v;/


	3. Seven Missed Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel fulfills his part of the deal pretty easily. Unfortunately, Valentino noticed his absence.

The night before seemed like just a blur now. Shortly after Alastor had left, Angel had went ahead to sleep. It had been a long day after all, and he had been so tired.

Now that he was awake though, the events of yesterday slowly began to come back to him, and he was realizing how much he still needed to worry about.

Alastor had needed Angel so that he could fulfill a deal with another demon, and in return, Alastor would do something for Angel.   
Angel had chosen to just go on and have a normal date with someone. Of all people, he'd chosen Alastor. 

He knew Alastor didn't want anything with him. He knew that his sex appeal meant nothing to Alastor, unlike with so many other demons down here. That wasn't to say Angel didn't like sex or his sex work either. Quite the opposite really, and he certainly didn't have any shame in it.

But for a moment where he wasn't just looked at for that one label? It was something he just wanted to feel for once.  
He knew Alastor would be the only one that could do that for him.  
That's why he chose the Radio Demon himself for the deal.

Even if it's just going to be pretend, he can't help but feel a little excited about it. It was going to be a breath of fresh air from the way his daily life often went, and that was... Well, exciting!

He climbs out of bed and gets himself ready for the day. He still had work to do, and he couldn't be late coming in _again_.  
Valentino had made that pretty clear the last time.

The day went on like any other day for him. Valentino always started with talking down to him followed by sickening sweet talk that Angel was believing less and less, but then it was clients as usual. The easier part of the day. Somehow.

Though as time kept ticking by, the growing pit of anxiety down in his gut was getting worse and worse.  
He had to meet Alastor at ten p.m. That would _normally_ be just fine, but tonight he was working.   
He couldn't just back out on a deal with Alastor right? Well... It's not like he wanted to. He was looking forward to that date he was promised anyways.

He came down to one of his last breaks before ten p.m. hit. If he didn't leave now, he might not make it in time. But if he leaves now, it was almost guaranteed that Valentino would not be happy about this.  
Angel didn't even want to think about how the next chat with Val would go afterwards, but there's no way he could tell him _"Hey Val, I'm leaving early!"_. That just wouldn't fly.

He went back and forth in his mind about what he should do, and the consequences of either decision, but as his last break was coming to an end, he decided to go for it.

He snuck out of the building, and went ahead to meet Alastor at their agreed location.  
He told himself that breaking a deal with Alastor might be far worse than anything Val could do to him, so really, this was the best decision!  
Though in reality, he really was looking forward to the normal date he'd been promised to have after fulfilling his end of the bargain.

* * *

Angel arrived at the shittier motel that was two streets or so away from Charlie's hotel. It was one of those cheap places.  
The ones where you're pretty sure it's got swarms of roaches hidden within its walls, complete with a grimey, creepy man working at the counter.  
Even despite some of the work Charlie needed to make for her hotel, it looked like a five-star one compared to this shitty place.

As expected, Alastor was waiting right outside, with some no-name demon that Angel had never seen before. Apparently this was the guy so desperate to sleep with Angel, he'd basically promised his soul to the Radio Demon.

"Ah, see? There you. Angel Dust, as promised." Alastor uses his cane to push the demon forward towards Angel. The other demon is clearly nervous, but puts on a very poor attempt of trying to sound cool anyway.

"Hey babe, shall we go book our room?" He makes a little "finger guns" gesture as he says that. 

Angel is more unimpressed than he was just a moment ago, now. Was it really so hard to just come out and say "let's go fuck"?   
Angel wanted to make remark in protest but Alastor had come around to his side, poofing up a pretty nice stack of cash.

"I take it that this will be enough to cover your costs, Angel?" 

Angel's eyes widened a little.   
"Oh... Yeah, that's uh... That's good," It was at least triple what this evening would have been worth, so he really couldn't complain.  
"Hold onto it 'til I get done, will ya Al?" 

Alastor only gives a small nod in response, and Angel disappears into the motel with the other demon.

* * *

Angel was prepared to be in there for a couple of hours, if not the whole night, but it didn't last all that long.  
He was only really in there for an hour before the other demon had already blown his load and got too tired to try to go a second time.

With the demon passing out in bed, Angel took that as his opportunity to leave.   
Angel was supposed to have sex with this demon, and he did. His side of the deal was done. 

Angel had pulled his clothes back on, and did his best to fix his hair and came back out of the motel.  
He was a little surprised to see that Alastor had patiently been waiting just outside the building the entire time. Did he not have anything better to do? 

"Uh, hey, I'm done so uh... Can I have the money?"   
"Ah! Angel Dust, there you are!"

Alastor handed the cash over. It seemed like he had completely expected Angel to get done right around this time and not a moment sooner.

"Uh thanks... So um... A-" Alastor cuts him off.  
"About your promised date, yes? I can pick you up from the hotel at seven, tomorrow night." Alastor's voice, and smile seemed a lot sweeter than normal.  
Angel kind of had to wonder if Alastor would act any different during their pretend date.

"Yeah, uh... Seven sounds good!" Angel smiles a little. Why did this feel so weird? ... So... Awkward?  
Angel had no problem fucking strangers, but a little _date_ was making him nervous?   
What the fuck.

"Be sure to dress nicely will you?" Alastor's request snapped Angel out of his thoughts.  
"Oh, yeah. Of course! Pfft, you act like I _don't_ have nice clothes! Fashion is important in my line of work too, you know!"

Alastor blinks and pauses for a moment before responding.  
"Well... I wouldn't have expected that, but I'll take your word for it! Anyway, I'll bid you a goodnight!" And similarly to the night before, Alastor had just disappeared from right in front of him.  
Angel was kind of wishing he'd stay and talk a little longer sometimes.

* * *

Angel got back to the hotel rather quickly, being sure to shower from the events of the long day, and get into something comfy to lay down in.

He felt weird. He was _really_ excited about tomorrow. About the date. He felt like some dumb, giddy kid who got asked out by the most popular person in school.  
Even that didn't quite compare to how he felt about the upcoming date.

  
Now laying in bed, his lights off except for a little end-table lamp, and feeling the weariness of the day hitting him, he was ready for sleep.

. . .

Almost.

He reached for his phone to set an alarm _just_ to make sure he had enough time to get ready for the date. In case he forgot.   
Which he probably wouldn't but...  
_Just in case._

Though when the screen to his phone lit up, his heart sank.  
Any excited thoughts and feelings about tomorrow completely vanished, and he had nothing but fear overwriting every single one of those once pleasant thoughts.

Seven missed calls, and nineteen unread text messages. All coming from the same contact.

Valentino.

Angel sat up. He could feel the uneasy knots forming in the pit of his stomach as he unlocked his phone, and started to go through the easy stuff.  
Text messages.

Valentino would always send text messages before resorting to phone calls. When he started calling Angel's phone, he'd known he'd be dead.  
Or dead-er.  
Either way it wasn't pleasant.

_"Val: You're 5 mins late. Where r u? [10:05 P.M.]"  
_

_"Val: Angel baby, you better answer me. Ur 20 mins late. [10:20 P.M.]"  
_

Half the text messages were Val getting progressively angrier and stating how late Angel was.

He nervously took a peek at the current time. Just about midnight. His shift would have ended in about 2 minutes.

He read through just a few more.

_"Val: Angel we're gonna have a problem. [10:35 P.M.]"  
_

_"Val: You're in deep shit now as it is. [10:45 P.M.]"  
  
_

After he'd read through the rest of the text messages, it came to the hard part. The voicemails left behind.

The first one was left at eleven p.m. An hour since he hadn't bothered to show up.

_"Angel, sweetheart, if you don't get your dumb little ass back here, you're gonna be in some deep fucking shit, you hear me?!"_

That was message number one.

  
_"It's one thing to cut your shifts short, but you don't even bother to fucking tell me? Answer your god damn phone!!"_

That was the second message.  
  


_"I swear to fucking god if you don't answer my fucking calls you are gonna regret it! I'm gonna do a whole lot more than dock your fucking pay!!"_

That was the third message.

...  
  
The rest were similar to the text messages, progressively getting more and more aggressive with each one.

The last one bothered him a lot though.

He could hear the gritted teeth on the other side of the phone.

_"Alright Angel. Alright, you think you're getting away with this? You think I won't find you again? You can either come to me, and make this easier. Or I can come find you, and I gurantee you don't want me to fucking find you. Get your stupid whore ass back here tonight. If I have to come look for you tomorrow, I'm really gonna show you what hell is like!"_

Angel put the phone down in his lap.  
He couldn't call Val back, hell, he couldn't just _text_ him back now either!  
Valentino said he'd come find him.  
Did he know Angel was staying at Charlie's hotel..? 

...

He might.  
Well... It's not like he'd know which _room_ Angel was staying in, right..?   
Maybe he should tell Charlie not to let Valentino in.  
Yeah, he can't just defy the princess of hell if she says he can't come in!

...

But it was past midnight now...  
Charlie _must_ be asleep.  
Even if she wasn't though, how would he explain this to her anyway?

_"Yeah, hey, this guy named Valentino is going to fuckin' obliterate me so can you like... Not let him in?"_

Which of course would be followed by a lot of questions from Charlie.  
Maybe.  
That might even invite _more_ problems than he was already dealing with.  
No, he didn't need Charlie's help.  
He didn't need any help with this.

"No, I'm fine..." He said quietly to himself.  
"He won't find me here right now. I'm fine. Everything's fine." He repeated it over and over again, but every sound of a passing car on the street, or a few old creaks from the hotel building sent him into a panic.

He kept quiet. Listening for everything.  
For every car that drove past, he listened for if it stopped. If he heard car doors opening or closing.  
For every creak, and old thud in the building, he waited to hear if it was footsteps. 

Eventually he got himself up to double check that his door, and all the windows were closed and locked.  
They were... but... It made him feel slightly more at ease having double checked them.

He sat back down in bed, still wide awake, frequently checking his phone for new messages or calls.  
Terrified that he'd get a new one saying _"I'm right outside your door."_ or something like that.

He couldn't sleep.  
He couldn't relax.

He knew what was coming the next time he saw Valentino.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone whose still reading so far, it means a lot! ;w;
> 
> This chapter is still pretty tame, but the next chapter will have heavily abusive scenes, so PLEASE, if that makes you uncomfortable, you may wish to skip the 4th chapter ;v;


	4. Pretend Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor fulfills his side of the deal for Angel, and the pair go on a pretend date.  
> It's almost perfect.  
> Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, sorry this next chapter took so long to be posted ;v;  
> This one posed a pretty big challenge to me. I'm not particularly good with dialogue and building relationships, so I was constantly going back and changing stuff to try and get it sounding as natural as I could ;v;
> 
> Also there's a brief moment where I wanted to describe an outfit Angel was wearing, but I'm not very good at clothing descriptions.  
> So this is a link to an image of the outfit I was describing within the chapter, in case you'd prefer a visual of what I wanted to go with for him:   
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ReLmZ4oxnAaWsz1mtEYCvS-nKK1VIRtz
> 
> Again, writing is more of a hobby of mine, so this isn't perfect writing, but I really hope you enjoy! ;v;/
> 
> Also I made a mistake during planning for the fic, and in the previous chapters notes I mentioned this chapter would have heavy abusive themes, but I was wrong!! It's actually the next chapter. ;v;

Angel hadn't even realized that he'd fallen asleep after everything.   
Eventually at some point in the night, he hadn't been able to keep his eyes open anymore and must've passed out.

The only thing that gave away that he'd actually fallen asleep was the bright morning light.   
...As bright as you'd expect it to get in hell anyways.

He panicked at first, sitting up quickly and taking a fast look around the room to make sure everything was fine.  
Which, thankfully, it was.

Angel sighed with some relief.   
He was still here, still in his room.   
No ominous figures hiding in the corners.  
Nothing tying him down so he can't escape.  
He was safe and sound.  
  
See?  
There was nothing to worry about.  
He had just been over reacting!  
Or so he told himself.

Though when his gaze landed onto his phone, he felt his heart rate become rapid.  
Had Val sent more messages? More calls?  
He didn't hear his phone go off while he was asleep...  
Wait! Had he even turned it off silent?  
He typically left his phone on silent during work hours, but with how late it was yesterday, and the stress of seeing all of Val's messages... He was pretty sure he'd forgotten to turn the sound back on.

He hesitantly reached out and picked his phone up and checked for new messages.  
He somehow felt _more_ relieved seeing that there hadn't been any new messages.   
In fact the only thing he noticed was it was almost time for his alarm to go off that he'd set last night.

Angel had set his alarm to go off around four 'o clock p.m. to make sure he'd have enough time to shower and pick out his outfit and do whatever makeup he'd go with for his (pretend) date this evening.

Yeah... Three hours ahead was a _little_ much, but he wanted to make sure he wouldn't end up being late!   
He was really looking forward to this date!  
But...

That awful, anxious feeling was welling up inside of him again the more his train of thought continued.

Angel was supposed to work today too, though he supposed he was already running late for that...  
He wasn't entirely thrilled about the next time he showed up either, because again, that meant coming face to face with Valentino, and however he felt like punishing Angel at the time.

He was putting himself at even more risk by skipping today to go out on a date too.  
Maybe he could reschedule the date with Alastor..?  
...  
But he _really_ wanted to go tonight.  
He was already in a ton of trouble anyway right..?  
What would missing one more day really do?

Angel takes a deep breath, and goes on ahead to get himself ready. He wanted to at least enjoy this night before having to deal with Val again.   
Besides, better to do it now, because who the hell knew when his broken bones were gonna heal enough for him to actually go on the date if he were to reschedule?

Angel prepared for the date he was supposed to have in just a few hours.   
A shower with the nicest smelling shampoo, and a lot of it. (He had a lot of fur after all.)   
Pleasant smelling body sprays that added a nice shimmer to all of his fur.  
Angel did a little bit of eye makeup too.   
Some basic eye liner and a little mascara.   
Oh, and of course a bit of light pink eye shadow that had a little sparkle to it. It would work well with the outfit he had planned for the night.

It would be something nice.  
Something a little cute, something a little sexy, but not too over the top.

He ended up settling on a dress that had a strapless, black top piece, and a short, light pink skirt as the bottom piece.

It was something he hadn't gotten to wear as often recently.   
He loved it, of course, but he had wanted to have at least _one_ outfit that was saved for some nicer occasions.   
Tonight's date felt worthy of being one such occasion. 

Finally he was ready for his date with Alastor.

Though... He did end up having time to spare.   
He expected as much of course, given how early he'd started getting ready.  
But this was a little too much extra time for him to be alone with his thoughts.  
He'd be waiting about another half an hour before Alastor was going to come by the hotel to pick him up for their date.

Which meant he had plenty of time to panic about Valentino.

* * *

  
  
When it had come down to being just a few minutes away from their promised time, Angel made his way down to the hotel lobby to wait patiently.  
As expected, Alastor appeared exactly at seven 'o clock p.m.

Angel perked up when he saw the radio demon. Part of him thankful that it was Alastor and not Valentino.  
Maybe a bit because he was excited for the date too.

Alastor's appearance didn't change _that_ much. A different suit, a little more black now than red, but his color choice remained in the black and red color spectrum.  
His hair even appeared to have been brushed out to look a little neater. 

At the very least, it did seem like Alastor might actually take this date seriously after all.

"Ah, Angel! I see you're here right on time as well! Might I add that you are looking absolutely lovely this evening,"   
  
Angel freezes up for just a moment when Alastor speaks to him.   
Did _Alastor_ just compliment _him_?   
That was oddly sweet and-   
No!  
This was pretend.  
Alastor is _pretending_!  
Angel knew he should be pretending too.  
Maybe all the stress from Val was making him get a little too caught up within weird emotions and feelings.   
That made the most sense to him.

"Alright Angel, you're ready to go, yes?" Alastor still had that grin on his face, but again, it was one that, to Angel at least, felt a little less forced if anything.  
But Angel reminded himself that this was still "pretend", and he knew Alastor would be good at that.

Alastor cleared his throat to get Angel's attention back.   
"Angel? Are you ready to go out now?"  
"Oh! Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm ready!" Despite this being pretend, and the looming threats from Valentino from the previous night, he still found himself very excited for the date tonight.

"Very good! Now, I've picked out a rather nice venue for the two of us to have a good evening together!"

Alastor's grin and voice almost sounded truly sincere, but Angel mentally reminded himself that this was pretend.   
A nice venue though? He couldn't imagine very many "nice" places down in hell.

"So uh, where exactly are we goin'?"  
"Why, that's a surprise, darling! But I assure you that you'll enjoy it. You have my word," 

His grin never falters, and his voice almost sounds even _sweet_. Angel hadn't even noticed the very light blush that crept up along his own cheeks.  
Thankfully, all that fur made it pretty difficult to see anyway.

"Well I _better_ enjoy it. This is _your_ part of the deal. It better be fuckin' good."   
Angel smiles. There's a hint of playfulness to his voice despite the remark.

Alastor opens the hotel doors, making a slight bow, with arms gesturing towards the exit.  
"After you my dear!" 

Angel is ever so slightly surprised by the simple, yet very sweet gesture. He knew Alastor generally came off as quite charming and a bit of a gentleman, but it felt so much different now.

Angel takes the offer to exit the hotel before Alastor, who follows right behind.

"Hey so uhh... You got a car or somethin'..?" Angel turns to look at Alastor, who seems like he expected Angel to ask that anyway.  
"There's no need! I thought it might be enjoyable to have a pleasant walk down there, it's not far so no need to worry!"

Alastor extends an arm for Angel to take, which he was more than happy to accept.

The streets were oddly empty, even though it was only early in the evening yet.

It was especially a weird occurrence since they were in hell. Most people were out _very_ late into the night.  
Not that Angel was complaining. The peace and quiet of the empty street was kind of... Nice?   
It somehow felt like he could breathe better.   
He felt like he could actually appreciate that light breeze, and the way the bright lights from other store fronts sparkled in the darkness of the evening.

After a few moments of relishing in the comfort of an empty street, he did want to know what exactly Alastor had done to keep others from being around the area.  
There's no way this was just a coincidence.  
"Hey uh... Do you happen to know what happened to everyone else? Usually this street is at least a _little_ busy."

Alastor chuckles, not even concerned by the question, or the response he's about to give.  
"Oh don't you worry, Angel! I've made sure that everyone knows this area is temporarily off limits! Trespassers will be obliterated on sight, as they say!"  
"I uh... I'm not actually sure that's how that saying goes."  
"No? Ah. Oh well! Close enough!"

Well, that answered that question.  
Though he had a hunch that Alastor may have possibly left out some gruesome details here and there, but the point was, was that they could have a nice walk to their destination together!  
  


"Angel dear, would you like to talk while we make our way there?"

Angel perks up a little at the unexpected question. He was assuming Alastor would have preferred a quieter walk. Or maybe he was offering to be polite?  
Either way, he offered, so Angel wanted to take the opportunity.

"Actually, yeah I would. Have you done this sorta thing often? You sure seem like you know what you're doin' for a date," 

Alastor chuckles.  
"Why yes, I have done this a _few_ times. It was quite some time ago too! During my days where I still walked the Earth as a living person!" 

"Guess dating's not your thing, huh?"  
"Hm... The act of dating in itself isn't terrible to me. I simply just lacked the time and interest for it! I was perusing much _bigger_ things while I was alive, and having other relationships in my life at the time would have made things quite difficult." 

It was a _little_ sad to hear, but he couldn't say Alastor was necessarily wrong.  
Relationships did, more often than not, make personal success more difficult sometimes.  
For just a moment it had made him think a little bit more about the situation he was in now with Valentino.  
Though before Angel could make any response, Alastor continued.

"Though I suppose I didn't quite find interest in anyone around me either. It was a combination of the two really. What about you, hm? I bet you've taken on quite a few dates in your time!"  
"Oh, uh... Yeah, somethin' like that. I haven't gone on a serious date in ages though. I sorta got involved with a lot of other stuff and um... Well now I work a lot so, y'know."  
  
Angel forces a smile. He wasn't particularly eager to talk about previous dating experiences.   
Serious dating experiences were way in the past, and he preferred to keep everything from the past, in the past.

  
They spoke to one another for the remainder of their walk towards their destination.  
It had been relatively enjoyable, actually!  
Things started feeling a little less tense and awkward by the time they got to...

A _really_ high-end looking restaurant.  
Angel had seen this place _thousands_ of times, but it wasn't something you could just get into _easily_. Not without status or money anyways.

This wasn't the place you found a lot of the violent, or deviant souls.  
This was where you'd often find the greedy, selfish, demons.   
The one's who'd forsake everything for fame and fortune, no matter who they hurt, and no matter what they had to do for it.

These guys usually kept to themselves, but _boy_ were they jerks.   
Even down here in hell, these demons still thought they were better than all of the other damned souls here.  
Angel couldn't begin to imagine that kind of thought process. It was like they still somehow _didn't_ think they had been bad people or something.

That being said, even with a few demons like that inside of this establishment, it was still a _lot_ nicer than what's normally available in hell.

  
Once at the door, Alastor opens it for him, similarly to how he did back at the hotel, and waits for Angel to go through first.

As expected, the interior of the restaurant was incredible. Elegant was an understatement.   
It felt like something right out of a glitz and glam style fairy tale.

Sparkling chandeliers, fancy table cloths, and an atmosphere that screamed regal, made this place feel almost like taboo for him to be seeing with his own eyes.

Angel only mutters a low "Wow..." while he takes in the absolute beauty of the establishment.  
Hell didn't often have all that much to offer in the way of nice, or pretty things, let alone something that looked as much as a _luxury_ as this place did.

Alastor comes up beside Angel, his charming smile never changing.  
"Too much?"

Angel shakes his head.  
"Are you kidding me? I've been kinda wantin' to see the inside of this place for _ages_!"

It was true too. While Angel could go with or without a luxury lifestyle, he'd still always been curious about what might have been inside one of the few nice places to visit in hell.  
He wasn't disappointed either.

"Good! Then let's hurry along and get ourselves a table, shall we?"  
"Oh fuck yes. I can't wait to see what good shit they got in here!"

The two settle at one of the many available dining tables.   
Not many had been occupied which was either due to how difficult it was for anyone else to really get in here, or because Alastor did the same thing here as he'd done on the street to ensure a quiet evening between the two of them.

Angel is even just a tiny bit ecstatic about the tables themselves.  
Comfy cushions on the seats, and table cloth with intricate embroidered designs on the edges.  
The cutest part about these tables was the little half-open glass orb in the center of the table with a lit candle inside.

This place was beautiful.  
This evening was turning out beautiful.  
Maybe it was just the light but... maybe even Alastor seemed...

Ah.  
No.  
He reminded himself this is pretend.

This was about the experience.  
Not Alastor.

Fancy looking waiters would arrive with equally fancy-looking menus, complete with food that was probably over priced.  
Angel actually felt the tiniest bit _bad_ about Alastor paying for their meal together.   
Then again, there was little doubt that Alastor had hundreds if not _thousands_ of ways to get all the cash he'd ever needed.  
Alastor never was the type to hold money as a status symbol.   
Alastor wasn't quite that simple.

So there wasn't _really_ any reason to believe that this was too expensive for the Radio Demon.  
Besides, why should Angel be _that_ concerned about Alastor's well being from this anyways? This was Alastor making up his side of the deal!   
Angel had done something for Alastor, and he was returning the favor.

  
The pair sat and talked to one another over a fairly fancy dinner for the next hour or so.  
Angel was surprised to find that he was actually having a really good time.

Angel had even learned that he and Alastor actually had quite a few interests in common! (That is, if Alastor hadn't been saying so for the sake of making the date go well.)  
Though he had a feeling a _few_ of these things had to be true.  
  
Music, for example, was something he knew Alastor must have had a real interest in.   
Angel loved to listen to music. Most times it helped him relax. It even helped him somehow get a handle on his emotions during rough periods.  
He liked singing too but... It was more-so something he did in private.  
Alone.

Music ended up being the main topic that evening. Though to _some_ degree their music tastes were a little different, they could still find enjoyment in each others favorite choice of music.  
Or, so Alastor made it seem.

Angel explained how he loved to sing in private, and used to think about being a musical entertainer.   
Alastor would tell stories about how it had been a sort of hobby for himself back in the "Alive Days", and how _once in a while_ , he may have done a public song or two on his radio show.

Things were actually going so well that Angel not only had forgotten about Valentino's threats, but he'd also started forgetting this was all pretend.

"I only ever got to hear you singin' once, Smiles. From what I've seen you've got a great voice,"   
"Why thank you! I don't believe I've had the pleasure of hearing yours however. Perhaps you'll treat me to that someday."   
"Pfft, no way! The only thing I do for treating people is to some fun in the bedroom, if you catch my drift!"   
Angel's expression and tone change to appear and sound a little more seductive now. He takes a small sip from his wine glass, keeping his gaze on Alastor for just a little longer.

However, Alastor makes no comment on the words, or the change in Angel's tone or expression.  
But he _does_ catch on to something else.  
"Ah, I understand. You keep the _real_ interesting things about yourself a secret, yes?" 

Angel nearly chokes on the wine he was taking a sip of.  
"Excuse me?"

Alastor chuckles and shakes his head.  
"Oh, I meant nothing by it, my dear! Everyone has their secrets, don't they? I suppose most people choose to hide their sexuality because people feel oh-so ashamed of it! But not you. No, you must be ashamed of something else entirely! Am I right?"

Angel paused and stared at Alastor. A little shocked by the statement, a little confused, maybe even a little frightened.

"Oh uh... Haha.." Angel gives a nervous laugh in response, finally.  
"Yeah, everyone's got skeletons in their closet or somethin' along those lines, right?"

He smiles a little, uncertain of what Alastor was refering to.   
Did he see right through Angel?   
Did he know things Angel had never told a soul?   
Or was this in regard to Valentino?   
Or was it all of that? 

And yet, while this somewhat unnerved him, it also made him think that there must be _plenty_ that Alastor didn't let anyone know about himself either.  
If Alastor would pry things out of Angel, he'd do the same to Alastor, radio demon or not.

"So what if I'm ashamed of somethin' though? I bet you are too. So come on, what's the big bad Radio Demon ashamed of, huh?"   
Angel grins, leaning over the table a bit with that seductive expression and tone again.

Alastor raises a brow.   
Both a little surprised, yet pleased, by Angel's response.   
Angel may have gotten a little thrown off guard by Alastor's earlier comment, but Angel only bounced back with the same uncomfortable, probing question.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you those sorts of things."  
"Yeah, not yet anyways. Don't worry, you'll wanna tell me eventually!" Angel leans back in his chair, a playful grin now on his face.

"Oh will I? Well if I were you, I certainly wouldn't bet anything important on that!"   
"We'll see," 

The two exchange a brief gaze with one another, before the waiter returns to give them their bill and leaves again.  
Alastor breaks his eye contact with Angel, and diverts his attention towards the bill now instead.  
"Ah, well... I suppose it's that time already, isn't it Angel?"  
"Mm... Yeah."   
Angel brings his gaze down to his wine glass.   
The evening went by so quickly, he was actually a little disappointed the date was about over.

"Alright then. I'll walk you home, that's still a part of the date! So let's get going." 

Angel gives a slow nod.  
Why was he so sad now..?  
He had a great time, he should be feeling great!

* * *

The walk back down the street was still just as quiet and empty as it had been the first time.   
Still pleasant of course, but it felt a little bittersweet this time.

The great talkativeness that Angel had earlier had since faded, and his gaze remained fixated on the ground while varying thoughts began to swarm and swim through his head.

So this was it..?  
They'd went on the promised date, and while it was the most fun Angel had really had in a _long_ time, it was over.   
Just as quickly as it had happened, it had ended.   
He started wondering if maybe this _was_ a bad choice on his end of the deal.  
He had gotten a taste of something close to _genuine_ , and now he found himself wanting more of it.  
Does he just go back to living the way he has been?  
He didn't really have a choice did he?  
...  
No.  
No he really didn't.  
Not with Valentino breathing down his neck.

Oh god.  
 _Valentino_.  
He was going to _kill_ Angel.  
  
...  
  
Well...  
Maybe not _kill_ , but Angel knew full well he'd wish for death (again) rather than know what Valentino would have in store for him.  
His body instinctively begins to tense up as he remembers previous punishments he'd been put through.  
Those had been for far less issues though.  
But this?  
Leaving work early, skipping a full day, not contacting Val back?  
What was going to happen this time?  
Maybe... Maybe if he could just try to _talk_ to Valentino, he'd forgive him?  
Maybe if he-

"Angel, you've gotten awfully quiet."

Angel breaks out of his train of thought, just a little bit startled.  
"Oh! Oh, yeah... Uh... I'm just feelin' a little tired! I had a great time tonight, Al."

Angel forces the best smile he can possibly muster at the time.   
There's far too much on his mind now for him to give any kind of genuine smile.  
Not when there was so much uncertainty, and fear for his future.

Alastor notices something is off, but decides to not press on about it. They were almost back at the hotel anyway.  
"We're almost back to the hotel. Is there anything else you need before we get back?"

Angel felt another pit of ... all _kinds_ of negative emotions and feelings he couldn't quite point out right now, just forming, growing, down inside of him.

Alastor's question was asking Angel if he had anything left to say or do because their date was almost over.  
Alastor's end of their bargain was almost complete.  
When they arrived back to the hotel, all of this would be over.  
This "pretend" date would become a distant memory, and something that neither of them should bring up ever again.

Why did this hurt?

Maybe he was tired.  
Maybe he would feel like himself again after getting some sleep.

Though with the hotel coming into view, Angel felt more and more of a need to say _something_ about this whole date thing.   
It felt like it'd be the only time he could say anything more about it, otherwise, at any other time, Alastor may completely avoid the topic altogether, if he wasn't threatening him over it at the same time.

"Hey uh... Alastor? I was just wondering about this whole date thing..."  
"Go on."  
"Did you like... Y'know..." He pauses. It was hard to ask about this. He wasn't sure why.  
"Did you actually have fun too or what..? You don't um... You don't have to pretend for this question. I'm actually just asking you."

Alastor stops walking, and so does Angel, who waits patiently for Alastor's response.  
"Hm...Well I didn't _dislike_ it."   
"Oh, I-"  
"In fact, I did find it to be just a little bit more enjoyable than I expected it to be."

Alastor's gaze briefly meets with Angel's while he speaks.  
"Actually, you can be quite entertaining on occasion as well."

Angel smiles a little.   
He didn't exactly know why he wanted to know how Alastor felt about the evening, but knowing that Alastor didn't completely loathe the entire night was... Kind of nice.

  
Everything about this evening was nice actually.

That is, until a familiar vehicle pulled up and stopped beside them on the street and suddenly Angel felt all his panic set in, all at once.

No one opens the car doors, but Angel knows whose vehicle this is, and he knows he's expected to go inside if he doesn't want an extra dozen broken bones.

"Alastor I uh... I need to go now." He keeps his own gaze fixated on the ground.   
"Angel, we're nearly back at the hotel you-"  
"I had a great time tonight Alastor... Thank you for takin' me out. I'll see you around." 

He didn't let Alastor get back in much of a response.  
Angel stepped forward and opened the back door, and disappeared inside.  
When the door behind him closed, the vehicle drove off again back into the darkness of the evening.

Alastor watched as it disappeared from view.  
Something didn't quite sit right with him now.  
Alastor was no idiot, and he knew what was going on here.   
He also knew it was really none of his business, and he really had no reason to care about it either.

And yet, he felt this rising anger within himself with how these final moments just ended.

He assured himself however, that it wasn't any care he had towards the other, no. Absolutely not!  
This was about their deal, and it hadn't been closed properly because of Valentino's interference. 

Alastor made good on all of his deals.  
He'd make good on this one too.  
Properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone that's still reading this fic. It actually makes me really happy to see that some people are enjoying it ;w;/  
> I really hope I can continue to write this well ;v;/
> 
> Also, next chapter will have very heavy abusive scenes and it may or may not upset some people.  
> If that kinda stuff makes you uncomfortable, please skip the chapter!  
> This really is the last tame chapter before I get into some other stuff!! 
> 
> Thanks again for everyone whose still reading, and thank you for being so patient with this chapter! ;v;/


	5. You'll Never Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentino punishes Angel for the last two days of skipped work.   
> To some of Angel's relief, he doesn't know it involved Alastor yet.
> 
> *THIS CHAPTER HAS HEAVY PHYSICAL/SEXUAL ABUSE CONTENT IN IT. PLEASE SKIP THE CHAPTER IF THIS MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BIG WARNING!! AGAIN!!   
> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS PHYSICAL/SEXUAL ABUSE AND RAPE CONTENT. IF THESE THINGS MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, PLEASE SKIP THIS CHAPTER!!
> 
> That's the warning!! Please, again, if you are uncomfortable reading about abuse and rape, please do not read this chapter!
> 
> This was a tough chapter to write for a lot of reasons, but I really hope that I did okay here ;v;

Angel sat on the plush seats of the limousine, already feeling sick with the familiar scent of Valentino's cologne and the stuffy air within the vehicle.   
He knew what was coming.  
He knew what would happen, and there was no way out of it.

"Long time no see Angel cakes,"   
Valentino sat across from him, leaning back into the seats. A disgusting grin plastered over his face   
There was nothing to smile about.

"You mind tellin' me where you been?"  
"I... I was just... Y'know kinda... I got busy and sorta forgot and-"  
"Oh you forgot? Forgot to finish your shift? Forgot to come in the next day? Forgot to answer me when I call you!?" Angel could hear the rage in Valentino's voice rising behind his gritted teeth.   
Angel couldn't make eye contact with him.

"I needed a day off."  
"Oh, you needed a fuckin' day off huh? Alright. Alright then. Well you're officially makin' up for lost time then."  
"It's late. Can't I just come in tomorrow? Look, I'll even come in a little earlier!"

Valentino chuckles.  
"You think I'm gonna let this shit go _that_ fuckin' easily? You think after all the crap I did for your sorry ass, that you can start fucking off like this?"

Angel's gaze is fixated on the floor of the limo. His body feels stiff, and yet he can feel himself trembling.

"I... I wasn't trying to ditch, I just-"  
"You shut your god damn mouth. Not another fuckin' word until we get back to the studio."

Angel stopped speaking. It's not like anything he says would make a difference anyway. Valentino would never hear him out. Never listened.  
Where did all the simple days go?  
When did things get like _this_..?

* * *

When they arrived at the studio, Valentino ordered Angel to follow him. He did, up into the sort of "V.I.P" bedroom Valentino had set aside for himself.

Once they're both inside, Valentino shuts the door behind them, and locks it.  
Angel stood nervously near the closest wall.   
He knew what was going to happen.  
More harsh words and more cruel treatment.  
He wanted to run away, but where could he even run to..?  
Even if he _did_ run off, it was only a matter of time before Val would find him again, and things would just get worse from there.

There was no way out.  
Not that he could see.

"Now Angel babe, you know I consider myself to be a really generous man. You know that, don't you?"

Angel hadn't really changed where he'd chosen to keep his gaze. Still locked to the floor. Anywhere but Valentino.

"Yes, Val."   
"Haven't I given you everything you could've asked for? You wanna go back to how it was when you first landed down in hell? 'Cuz I can make it go back to that real fuckin' fast."  
"No..."   
"So then tell me what the _fuck_ was your dumb, slut ass thinking these last two days, huh?"  
"I..." 

Angel tries to think of what to say. Words that Valentino wanted to hear.   
Not the truth.  
The truth never worked.  
The truth was, was that Angel just wanted to take an opportunity to enjoy something he'd never really gotten to enjoy before. Just once. Just one time.

But Valentino wouldn't accept that.

So he would answer in a way that would make Valentino the least angry as possible.

"I wasn't."

Valentino scoffs.  
"Course you weren't. Don't see why you sluts go off thinkin' you can just figure things out on your own."

Valentino comes around to stand in front of Angel now. He places his hand against Angel's cheek, and for a brief, fleeting moment, it felt kind. It reminded Angel of better days.  
It was a gentle touch that Angel found to be so foreign in his life, but just as quickly as he'd felt it, it was gone.

The hand disappears and returns with a sudden smack against his face, the addition of Valentino's claws also end up grazing the flesh beneath his fur.  
It stings, but it's nothing compared to what Valentino would be putting him through later.

Valentino shoves him against the wall, one hand tight around his throat, the other against his shoulder where it had come so suddenly, and harshly, that Angel heard, and felt the awful moment his shoulder got popped out of place.  
He cries out in pain, but the grip over his throat tightens. He does his best to quiet himself, but the shaky breaths remain.

"This is the _LAST_ time I'm gonna fucking tell you, Angel!! You come _ON TIME_ , you answer _ALL_ my fuckin' calls, and you do _EVERYTHING_ you're told!! Do I make myself fucking clear!?"

Angel can barely give a nod, but he can't bring himself to speak either.  
Still, Valentino accepts what little gesture Angel makes and lets go of his hold on him. Stepping away rather calmly like nothing even happened at all.

Angel uses his opposite arm to gently touch the other arm with the newly-injured shoulder. It wouldn't be that easy of a thing for him to fix on his own.  
It hurt terribly, and now more than ever, he wanted to get back to the hotel.

  
But he couldn't.

"Alright, get on the bed."

Angel looks at Valentino.   
He's confused, no.  
He's in absolute disblief.  
He wasn't being asked to do this _now_ with what just happened to his shoulder, was he?

"Val, wait a sec, I... I can't right now. I-"  
"Are you trying to disobey me already?"  
"No! No, listen to me!! You-... I think _I_ broke my shoulder... I... I gotta go home!"  
Emphasis on "I".  
It had to be Angel's fault.  
Valentino wouldn't accept it any other way, and Angel just wanted this whole thing to end quickly.  
He wanted to go back to the hotel.

Valentino approaches Angel again, but there's little time for Angel to do anything to protect himself quickly enough.  
He's hit in the face again, but not with a slap. In fact, he would have preferred that instead, but no.  
This time he got completely slugged, and the suddenness and the force of it was more than enough to knock him down onto the carpeted floor.

Now he was on the floor.  
The only thing in his current view was more of the carpet.  
Like this, he felt _powerless_.  
Completely defenseless.  
Even if that weren't the truth, it felt that way.  
He felt like nothing when he was before Valentino.  
He wanted to please him.  
He wanted Valentino to be happy with him again.  
He wanted to do a good job so things could go back to the way they _used_ to be.  
But now with Valentino standing over him like this? He felt terrified.

On instinct, he turned himself around some, and made use of his arms (even the injured one) to pull himself up before-  
Well, before what ended up happening _anyway_.

Before he could get himself standing up again, Valentino was standing over him. Foot stepping down, hard, onto his back to keep him down on the ground.  
All inside of him, his body was screaming to fight back and just _run_ , and yet he remained completely still on the ground.  
In some ways he wondered if this is what it felt like when a predator catches its prey moments before tearing it to shreds.

"Look at you, Angel. You look so fucking pathetic right now. Acting like _I'm_ the one causin' problems around here, when it's obviously you. I saw you walkin' around with some other demon tonight."

Valentino puts a little more pressure down on Angel's back, but he doesn't respond. He just does his best to suppress a pained groan or whimper.

"They puttin' ideas in your head? Is that what's goin' on? Who was it, huh?"

But Angel doesn't respond.

Valentino finally steps away from Angel, letting him sit up. Now with yet _another_ spot on his body that was going to be sore for a while.

"Now get on the bed. Don't make me tell you a third time."

Angel takes some time to stand up from the floor. His head hurt, his shoulder was practically screaming, and now his back felt fucked up.  
He didn't want to be around Valentino right now.  
Angel's mind kept screaming, begging, that he wanted to go home.  
But truly, what home did he have to go back to..?

Once he's finally on his feet again, (using the closest wall for support), he starts to consider how fast he might be able to run to the door, and get out.  
He tries to think of a plan in his head to escape, but in the short time he had to think of a few options, they just weren't realistic and would most likely end in him getting hurt more than he already was.

Just as he's thinking about a way to jump out from the window, Valentino speaks and takes his attention away.  
"Angel Dust."

Valentino was going to get angry with him _again_.  
But he didn't want to do any of this.  
He just wanted to go back to the hotel.  
He wanted to run away.  
He wanted to get away from this.

"N...No."  
He finally gets it out, but maybe it was something he shouldn't have _really_ said out loud.

"What the _fuck_ did you just say to me?"

Angel doesn't answer again.  
He takes a few desperate steps towards the door, but Valentino is already there beside him.  
He grabbed Angel's injured arm by his wrist, and Angel immediately freezes in place.  
A little too much movement while Valentino was holding his arm so firmly was going to send searing pain back up into his shoulder again. It was better if he just stay still. 

"I've had enough of your fuckin' attitude today."  
He drags Angel towards the bed, and once close enough, pushes him down onto it. 

Angel doesn't stay down for very long however, because as soon as he's hit the surface of the bed, he's scrambling to get back up again.  
Valentino doesn't need to put in too much effort to keep Angel down though.   
Valentino grips Angel's shoulders, and shoves him back down into the mattress and climbs on top of him.

Angel lets out a pained cry from the entire action. His shoulder felt like it was on _fire_ , and it was enough that he could feel frustrated tears forming in the corners of his eyes.  
The pain was excruciating now, but he didn't want to do this. 

  
"Val I- Knock it off!! Everything fucking hurts!! Get off!!" Angel squirms beneath Val. His shoulder in agony, but he desperately wants to breakaway and run for it.  
He feels sick, and he can't explain why.  
Everything about this always feels wrong when it's with Valentino.  
Angel had ignored it for so long, but he could never bring himself to act upon his discomfort.  
Maybe he really _did_ get some ideas in his head from Alastor.  
Maybe that pretend date made him want to leave all of his current life situations behind.  
Something was starting to click in his head. He couldn't entirely figure it all out at once, but what he did know, was that he didn't want to do this with Valentino.  
He wanted space more than anything right now.

Valentino had made no response to Angel right away. He was using his time to pull the dress up that Angel had worn for his date, and when that was out of his way, he focused on what he wanted to do to Angel, and when Angel felt that pressing into him, it made him want to vomit.

He continued to struggle, and attempt to get out from under Valentino, but with all of these useless attempts, he could feel hundreds of negative emotions swallowing him whole.  
He was angry.  
He was sad.  
Frustrated.  
Scared.  
Tired.

He was hurting.

But the pain didn't stop.

He struggled more, trying to flail his body as much as he could to do anything to break free, but when nothing worked, he really felt his emotions beginning to boil over.  
He almost wriggles enough of himself free to try to get up, but a clawed hand comes down over his throat, pushing him back down into the bed and making it that much harder to breathe.

Everything feels like it burns.  
Outside, and the inside.

As the clawed hand around his neck tightens, Angel finally decides to give up.  
He stops trying to struggle.  
Stops trying to escape.  
He always gives up.

Valentino seems to know Angel's given up, and removes his hand from Angel's throat so he can finally breathe.  
His gasps for air just make him want to vomit more as they go in tune with the sickening rocking motion of Valentino's body against his own.

He turns his head to the side to keep his eyes on a wall instead. He doesn't want to see the man above him. He doesn't want to take in what's happening.  
He wants to ignore it.  
He wants to forget it.

He feels a pain in his chest as his mind screams for someone to help him, but he reminds himself there is no one to truly help him.

He didn't know how long he was lying there while it happened to him.  
He only knew it was over when he felt his abuser finishing inside him like that.  
It made him feel sick.  
He wanted to throw up.

He hears Valentino's voice, but he doesn't know what he says. He finally feels the other's body heat gone as he moves away from Angel, but Angel couldn't find it in himself to move.

  
"Fine! Don't fucking answer me, but you get your ass down there and you better fuckin' please every fucking demon that showed up tonight. You understand? You got ten fucking minutes to get down there."

It's not over..?  
No, of course it wasn't.  
He knew this was going to be a long night.

Angel hears Valentino open and close the door, and then silence.  
He'd left the room.

Finally, Angel had some time to breathe.

He slowly turns his head to stare up at the ceiling.  
His mind is blank.  
There was nothing his mind could settle on.  
Everything hurt.  
Everything always hurt.

He feels the way the warm tears start to slide down his face, but he tries his very best to not break down right now.  
He had more work to do for Valentino.  
He couldn't look like a mess.

Angel forces himself up off the bed, feeling weak and exhausted already, but he'd have to get through it regardless.

* * *

Finally, as 2 A.M. rolled around, Valentino decided to pull Angel from work. He was a little thankful for it, he wasn't sure how much longer he could do it.

"Good. You made back an _okay_ amount of money for you absence."

Angel only nods in response.   
He doesn't speak.   
He doesn't make eye contact.

"Now you listen to me, Angel." He reaches forward gripping his claws around Angel's jaw to pull him closer.  
"You've gotten away with bullshit way too easily, and if you _ever_ pull _anything_ like this again, you're gonna get locked up with the rest of the old trash."

Angel feels a different kind of uneasiness settle in him now.  
Get locked up? With the _"rest of the old trash"_? What does that even mean?  
... He's not even sure he wants to know what that means.

Valentino lets go of Angel's face, and Angel immediately takes the chance to make some distance between them.

"But before I let you go, I'm really going to have to make sure you remember to listen to me. Because I've been lettin' you off too easy. So you're gonna remember this time. When we're done with that, you can go back to whatever hole you're fucking around in."

One more thing, and Angel could finally go ho- ... Go somewhere to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay wow!! So it's been a long time since I've had time to write in here again, but I'm going to start writing more to this again!
> 
> I actually moved recently so things had been pretty hectic!
> 
> Thanks for all of your patience!


	6. Tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everything that happened the previous night, the emotional load Angel is carrying around with him is too much, and he finally cracks.  
> Right in front of Alastor.

It had been a long night.  
A really, _really_ , long night.

It was nearly 4 'o clock in the morning by the time Angel arrived back at the hotel, feeling like a total train wreck, (and looking just as bad.)  
He was thankful that no one was awake at the time, and took the opportunity to make for his room quickly, bathe, and get some very much needed rest.

Today was actually one of his few days off, and he planned on doing nothing but sleeping.  
Sleeping.  
And more sleeping.  
Not just because he was tired, but also because if he was unconscious in the first place, he didn't have to remember any of the awful things that were currently plaguing his mind.

At the very least, he definitely did get to sleep straight through what was left of the night, and through the day.  
However, as 3 P.M. came around, he was woken up by the sound of a gentle knocking on his door, followed by the familiar voice of Charlie calling to him.  
"Angel? Are you awake?"

Angel groaned in response and climbed out of bed. He noticed that his body ached way more than it did last night.  
"Yeah, I'm awake... Gimme a sec," 

He slowly made his way to the door, and cracked it open just a little. The light from the hallway almost felt blinding.  
"What is it?"

Charlie, as always, appeared to be genuinely concerned about his well being, as she was about everyone in the hotel.  
"Um... Alastor told me he saw you come in really late last night... Are you uh... Okay?" 

She clearly knew something was wrong.  
And what was this about Alastor telling her?  
Angel didn't recall seeing Alastor last night at all.  
That being said, he was exhausted and honestly just made a bee-line for his room, so it wouldn't be all that surprising if Alastor had been looming in the shadows or something like that.

"Uh... Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry," He forces a weary smile. "Do you mind though? I was in the middle of sleeping, I'd like to get back to that." He really just wanted this little exchange to end quickly so he could get right back into the comfort of his bed. The longer he was up standing here, _not_ in bed, the harder it would be to fall back to sleep again. Especially with everything going on in his head right now.

Charlie frowns a little, but she gives a small nod.  
"Alright. Um.. Sleep well!" She gives a tiny smile, and then heads back down the hall. She supposed seeing that Angel was safely inside the hotel, (and seemed generally alright), that there was no reason to keep asking questions right this minute.

Angel sighed, somewhat with relief, and closed his door and locked it back up again.  
He had to admit he was thankful that she didn't pry too much, and kind of respected his need to sleep some more. Not that she knew what had happened recently, but it wasn't _too_ hard to see just how done he was.

Angel sits back down on his bed, wondering if he should just stay up now anyway. He must have slept for what? ten or twelve hours by now, right..? He didn't necessarily feel _sleepy_ tired anymore. He was just tired of... Well... Everything else.

The room is still dark despite the late afternoon.  
The curtains closed, and only little strips of light can enter in from the outside.  
It's quiet.  
So quiet.  
It's so...  
_So_ quiet.

Quiet enough that his mind starts going.  
Starts thinking.  
Starts _remembering._

The next thing he knows, he feels the suppressed tears from the previous night, finally coming back in full force, as they begin to run down his face freely.

Tears turn into sobs.  
Sobs turn into cries.

He leans forward, hands covering his face while he cries into them.  
He was so tired of _everything_.  
Of _everyone_.

He hated all of this.

"I can't do this anymore..." His voice is shaky between his sobs.  
"I can't... I can't..." He repeats over and over again to himself.

It felt like everything was just caving in on him.  
He was losing everything, he was losing hope, he was losing _himself_.  
He had no where to run to.  
He had nothing to look forward to.  
What did he have..?

He did have at least _one_ thing.

His cries don't go unheard, because his perfect little pet pig hops up onto his bed, and sits down beside him.  
Angel feels his companion come beside him and drops his arms to look at the little pig.

"I'm sorry Nugs, I'm okay, I promise," He's obviously not, and even his little pig knows that.

Angel sighs and pets the little pigs head.  
"You'll always be here for me right..?" 

Angel scoops Fat Nuggets up in his arms, and holds him close to himself, cradling it even.  
"We've only got each other so..." He can't even finish a sentence as his voice cracks into more sobs.

"So we have to be here for each other. We have to- ... I can't-.. I don't-" 

He doesn't even know what he wants to say anymore.

Another hour ticks by, and Angel has since curled back up on his bed, Fat Nuggets snuggled right next to him, trying to provide what little comfort he can for Angel in his own way.

His sobs had died down to just tired sniffling as he finally got _some_ of the pain out of his system.

He wanted to sleep a little longer, but before he could drift back off to somewhere else, he heard knocking on his door again.  
This time it wasn't Charlie's.

Angel sighs and gets up from his bed, wiping a few stray tears from his face so he doesn't have to look like _that_ much of a disaster in front of whoever was at his door.

When he opens it, he's surprised to see that it's Alastor this time.  
"Oh, uh... Hey Al. Do you need something..?"

Angel's voice already sounded a little strained from all the crying, but his glossy eyes gave it away just as much.  
Despite noticing it however, Alastor doesn't make a comment about it.  
He already has a good idea about why Angel might have been crying anyway.

"Well, Angel! You see, our date was cut just a bit short last night. So I do believe I owe you another one! I take great pride in always holding up my end of the bargain, and I won't have this tarnish my good name, you see!"

Angel stares at him, a little confused really.  
"What..? No we... We had the date last night. I mean we were what? A block away from Charlie's hotel? It wasn't cut that short. It wasn't really your fault anyways," 

Angel forces a tiny smile. He really doesn't want to get into this right now.  
Alastor didn't owe him anything.  
In fact, it was best if he put the whole thing behind him anyway.  
It just hurt to know how much he really _loved_ going on that date, and then knowing it would always just be _pretend_ for him.  
Part of him wanted to forget it, like so many other things.

"I won't have it cut short by even a moment, Angel. Our date starts right as we leave the hotel, and it ends when we return to the hotel. That _interference_ did not allow us to fully complete our date. So I'd like to give you another one."  
"Aw man, listen, Al, that's nice of you and all, but-"  
"I am still bound to this deal by our souls. So I really must _insist_ we do this again."

Ah, that's right.  
Alastor wasn't doing this to be _kind_.  
He was doing this because of the deal obligations that involved his soul-binding, thingy.

"Oh, yeah... Okay but uh... See, I sorta got in trouble for skipping work yesterday for the date, so like... I kinda can't exactly do this at just _any_ time."

Alastor sighed.  
"Yes I see. Valentino, correct?"  
"...Yeah, him."  
"I should probably have a little chat with him to-"  
"No!"

Alastor pauses and looks at Angel, a bit more intently now, just a little surprised at how panicked he seemed suddenly.  
"I-... No. Don't- ... Don't talk to him about this stuff, please?"   
"Hm... Alright."   
"Listen, I got a shift tomorrow too, and I'm sorta really tired so if you don't mind, I should get a little more rest." 

Angel began to shut the door, but Alastor pushes the door back to keep it from closing.  
"Yes, well. I'll make this quick then. If your schedule is an issue, then tell me your next day off."  
"Ugh! Okay, whatever! It's Wednesday! Let me sleep!"  
"Alright then! How does seven sound?"  
"It sounds fine!"  
"Great!"

Alastor grinned and stepped away from the door, letting Angel close it at last.  
He sighed with relief and locked it back up.

At this rate, he wasn't really going to get to sleep again. There was just too much on his mind. Maybe he'd just spend the rest of the day trying to relax. He was still in a lot of pain anyway, and doing absolutely nothing for a day just sounded really nice right now. Plus his next day off he'd have to spend going on another date with Alastor so he'd have less time to rest but...  
Still... He couldn't say he was _unhappy_ about this.

He _did_ have fun on that date with Alastor, and since he got to make sure his schedule wasn't an issue this time, he didn't have to worry about what Valentino would do to him afterwards.

"...Too bad it's not like... Real." He mumbled to himself and sat back down on the edge of the bed, petting his little pet pig.

The rest of the day for Angel was some more on and off naps, and texting Cherri, while getting a whole lot of snuggles with Fat Nuggets.

It was a much needed day of rest.

  
The next couple of days were pretty standard.  
Work as normal, then back to the hotel to bathe, eat and sleep.

The day of his and Alastor's rescheduled date came relatively quickly, but this time, Angel was a little less excited for it.  
Still kind of happy about it, but not nearly as much as he'd been about the first one.

Valentino reminded him just how hopeless his situation really was.  
All good things must come to an end.  
So what was the point of having any good at all?

Still, despite the hopelessness he was feeling, there was still just a little bit of him that _did_ want to go on the date.  
A part of him that still held onto _something_ , that made him think that _maybe_ things could turn out okay.  
  


Alastor made no mention about "dressing nicely" this time, so Angel decided to wear something more casual tonight.  
In a way, his heart wasn't in it as much as it had been before.

After washing up for the date, he paused in front of the full-length mirror he had. It was good for deciding on outfits to wear, but this time, his reflection just made him feel sick.  
It wasn't the usual thought that came to his head though, no.  
It was because of the way Valentino had chosen to make sure Angel "never forgot."

It wasn't particularly noticeable, both because of it's location, and the layer of his white fur that covered every inch of his spider body.  
He never thought he'd be so thankful to have turned into something with fluff everywhere.

Angel sits down on the edge of his bed, looking down at his legs, feeling worse the longer he does so.  
He parts his legs slightly and lets a hand trail in between until he can feel where the fur felt rough and singed, never touching the skin beneath because he knew the pain would flare up again.

Marked like cattle.  
Marked by his "owner".  
Searing metal against tender flesh.  
Something he really wouldn't forget.  
Even if he could, the reminder would always be marked on him.

_When did Valentino start **branding** his workers?_

...

Something made him think that the threat about being "thrown away with the rest of them" was looming pretty close to him.

No more messing up.

He felt like the next time might be his last time.

  
He sighs and stands back up off of his bed.  
He should finish getting ready for his date with Alastor.  
His _pretend_ date.  
Because anything remotely good seemed to be fleeting, seemed to be _pretend_.

This time he went a lot simpler, pulling on a dusty rose colored sweater dress, and a pair of black leggings.  
It was simpler.  
A lot less _out there_ like he normally dressed.  
It felt cozy though.  
Felt safe.  
Tonight he just wanted to feel safe.  
He just wanted an easy night.

Besides, it wasn't like he _wasn't_ dressing nicely.  
He still looked cute in this.

He only half smiles at his reflection in the mirror.  
He was trying to feel positive about everything, but boy was it a huge struggle right now.

"What do you think Nuggs? This okay for a date night?"

Fat Nuggets makes a tiny squeaky sound (that Angel can't help but coo over immediately) and then makes his way over to stand beside Angel, wiggling it's tail happily.

"Aw, thanks! You always know just want to say don't ya?"

Angel smiles and picks the little pig up in his arms to hold him just for a moment.  
"You're always here for me..." He speaks softly.

"I don't know what I'd do without you here..." 

. . .

A few quiet moments pass before he sets Fat Nuggets back down on top of his bed.  
He finished getting himself ready for their date, and before long, he found himself heading down into the hotel lobby to wait for Alastor like before.

On the bright side, he wasn't waiting while ridden with anxiety about Valentino catching him.  
Though he couldn't say he was as excited about the date this time, as he was about the first one.

Maybe because he didn't expect it to be all that different.  
Maybe because he really took in that it's _pretend_.

Maybe he could take some of that quiet, waiting time in the lobby to think some things over and-  
Oh.  
As he reached the lobby, it was anything but quiet.  
It seemed like the hotel staff was around talking about something.  
Nothing that seemed particularly interesting.  
Just conversation.  
Charlie, Vaggie, Husk, and even Nifty were down there socializing, and upon noticing Angel, Charlie was the first to get excited about it.

"Oh!! Angel! There you are! I feel like I haven't seen you in _days_! Are you okay?"

Angel took a step back from her, always feeling just a bit weirded out by how much she seemed to genuinely worry and care about people.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I've just been tired. Sleepin' a lot, you know?"

Charlie frowns a little. She obviously knows there's a little more to it than that, but she decides to drop it.  
He wouldn't answer with everyone around like this anyway.

"Why don't you come sit with us? We're talking about ways to get a little more business here!"  
"Oh uh... I think I'll pass. I'm headin' out soon anyways!"

Charlie tilts her head slightly, curious to know what he's doing, but Vaggie speaks before she can.  
"Hey! You better not be going out in another turf war!! That crap went all over the news!! You can't do that again!"

Angel groans and rolls his eyes.  
"Geez, it was like _one_ time, let it go will ya?"

Charlie crosses her arms.  
"You're not, right?"  
"No! No, I'm not. I promise, okay?"  
"Well...Alright! But then, where are you heading?"  
"I don't hafta tell you _everything_ do I? I'll be back later," 

He doesn't let her get another word in, and immediately makes his way just outside of the doors of the hotel.  
Angel _was_ going to wait right there in the lobby, but he didn't want to have to answer the question about this very weird engagement he had with Alastor.  
It would be a long complicated story that he just didn't want to get into!  
Besides, waiting outside could be nice right?  
Right.

Stepping outside, he sighed with relief as the cooler evening air brushed against him.  
It felt refreshing.  
Relaxing.  
It felt like he could _breathe._

He waited patiently beside the hotel.  
The street itself was quiet tonight.  
The evening seemed peaceful, tranquil even. Kinda rare for a place like literal _hell.  
_  
He occasionally nudged a small pebble or looked up at the sky, or down the road, just waiting.

Waiting...  
Waiting....  
Waiti-

Wait. What was that?  
His gaze fixates down the street, trying to see if his eyes are playing tricks on him or not.  
"That's not... Is it..?"  
For just a moment he starts feeling his blood run cold but everything stops when he hears a voice behind him.  
He's so startled he nearly falls.

"Angel! Th-"  
"AGH!" 

Angel jumps a little and whips around to see Alastor standing there, looking just as nice as the last night they had a date.

"Jesus fuckin' christ Al. You're gonna give me a fuckin' heart attack!" 

Alastor laughs in response.  
"Oh Angel, you're already dead!" 

Alastor doesn't let Angel get any other retorts in as he extends an arm for Angel to take.  
"Might I add that you look just as lovely tonight as well, my dear!"

Angel hooks one of his arms around Alastor's, a small smile graces his lips when he hears the kind compliment.  
Pretend or not, it did feel nice to hear someone saying something positive about him once in a while.

"Hey so uh... We goin' to the same place tonight?"  
"Oh no! Of course not Angel! That would not only be boring, but it would be quite rude of me as well! There are plenty of things to do for a date. There's no reason to have our second date at the same place!"

Angel smiles a little. Okay, so they're going somewhere different this time?  
That's kinda nice.   
Maybe he _was_ feeling a little bit excited.

"So then uh... Where are we goin'?"  
"You'll see when we arrive! It'll be a bit more of a walk though than last time, I'm afraid."  
"Nah that's alright, Smiles. I kinda like just walkin' an talkin' with you." 

He smiles a little, briefly looking at Alastor, but that's when he remembers that this is _Alastor_. This is still _pretend_.  
He can't help but feel his heart sink a little.  
But the real issue, the reality of all of this, is that he remembered what he _saw_ just moments before Alastor arrived.  
He turns quickly to look back down the street, but nothing.  
Nothing is there.  
_Val's car is no longer there._

He ... Maybe he was just imagining things. It's night, so it's kind of dark right?  
Besides, Valentino didn't know where he was staying right now, right?  
Yeah, no way.  
He was seeing things.

"Hey uh... Let's.. Let's start heading to wherever okay?"  
"Yes of course Angel!"

They begin the quiet walk down to wherever it was that Alastor was planning on taking them, but Angel still feels the ache that this is _pretend,_ and it hurts _so_ much more this time, than it did before.  
Part of him even felt bad about all of this.

"I um... Sorry you had to do this again... I really didn't mean to leave early like that last time. It was just-"  
"It was that nasty, disgusting boss of yours. No need to apologize on his behalf."  
"Oh... Yeah I guess..."

Angel's gaze shifts down to the ground.   
Regardless whether it was his fault or Val's fault, Alastor still had to come out and do this date thing again.  
He probably didn't _really_ want to be out here doing this.  
Why would he?  
This was so he could close and finish up the deal.  
Then this would be over.

Some part of him feels like he should cherish this last good experience, but another part of him didn't.  
Why cherish this?  
He knows it will be gone, why should he get attached to something that will only inevitably be ripped away from him again?

"Angel."  
"Oh! Yeah? What?" He hadn't even realized Alastor was talking to him.  
  
"I said you seem worn out. Not to mention the last time I saw you to talk about rescheduling, you looked like an absolute mess."  
"Oh. Yeah uh... Just... Work has me tired y'know? Normal stuff!" He forces a smile, but it's not very convincing.

For a moment, things are silent between them, but when Alastor speaks again, his tone is completely different.

"Why didn't you pick something else when we made the deal?"  
"Huh..?"

Angel looks at him, a little confused.  
Both of them have stopped walking now. The streets are still empty, and the only thing moving between them is the occasional light breeze.

"You could have asked to get out of that mess with Valentino, and yet you ask for a date. A _pretend_ date. How are you happy with that? I don't understand."  
"Well I mean... I..."

He trails off, uncertain what to really say.  
Why did he choose that? ... Well no, he knew _why_ he chose that.  
He just wanted to feel that once.  
A loving, fun, pleasant date.  
Just once before going back to the reality that was quite literally hell for him.

But Alastor was right.  
He didn't even _try_ to ask for something else.  
To get away from Valentino for good.  
But there was a reason for that too.

"Because it's not even possible." There's something cold about Angel's voice now. It's grim. It's hopeless. It's nothing like what he'd been seen like.  
"What do you mean? You didn't even bother to ask! Do you like working with Valentino? I legitimately do not understand why you're still putting up with all o-"  
"No!"

Angel's hands are clenched into fists. His sudden raised voice makes Alastor silence himself.  
  
"I hate him! I hate _Valentino_!! I hate all of this shit!! But where am I gonna go, huh!? I'm already dead, right? I'm in fuckin' hell! No matter where I go, no matter what I do, I'm gonna be fuckin' miserable! So instead of me wasting my god damn time on some stupid fairy tale wish bullshit, I'd rather just do something that I _know_ won't make things any fucking worse! If I wish to get away from Val, do you know what's gonna happen? He'll find me fuckin' anyway! And then if not him, then I'm sure some other fuckin' prick, whose way fucking worse will waltz right into the god damn picture!"

Alastor is about to speak, but Angel continues before he even can get a single word out.  
"Oh but I bet you're thinkin' 'Oh, well if you wanted a nice date so bad, why don't you just wish for a good boyfriend or something?' God, I really fuckin' wish it were that easy, y'know? But if there's one thing I _do_ know about all this deal shit, and wish crap, it's that you never _really_ fucking get what you want! At the end of the damn day, you're right back in the same shit hole you started in, and you just feel ten fuckin' times worse!"

Angel can feel himself trembling.  
With anger.  
With pain.  
With a whole lot of sadness.

He gives a shakey sigh, briefly covering his face with his hands.  
"Sorry. I'm sorry. Let's just go on the fuckin' date and then you can get on with whatever the fuck you're doing."

He drops his hands from his face, his eyes clearly glossy, but he wouldn't let himself cry.  
Not here.  
Not now.

Alastor stood still in silence for a while. A little shocked by Angel's emotional outburst, and maybe just a little bit surprised to hear so much about this out of nowhere.  
Alastor hadn't meant any animosity in his question.  
In fact, he really was curious as to why Angel had picked such an odd request for his side of the deal.  
He actually felt just the _tiniest_ bit bad about it.  
The more he talked to Angel, the less he understood _why_ Angel was even in hell in the first place.  
Angel didn't seem nearly as bad as the other demons he'd seen down here.  
He almost wondered if Angel was pulled down here by _mistake_.

Regardless, this breakdown Angel just had was proof he was not only struggling, but he was getting _worse_.  
Maybe they should go somewhere quiet to talk.  
Besides, he could understand a bit more about Angel that way. (Assuming Angel would be willing to talk at all.)  
Plus it's not like Angel would have a good time on a date with the way things were right now, and Alastor was going to give him a _good_ date.  
They could reschedule again.  
But for tonight, maybe they could just talk.

Alastor sighs and takes Angel's hand in his. Not even thinking about whether this is pretend time or not.  
"There's a park not too far from here. Let's go. It should be nice and quiet there. I think we should sit and talk for a little while."

Angel looks at Alastor.   
He felt defeated.  
Tired.

He let himself blow up in front of probably the demon that could care the _least_ about his problems.  
It was a reminder how hopeless he felt.

"Sure. Not sure exactly what we need to fuckin' talk about though. This is a job for you right?"  
"Yes but there's a few thing's I'd like to speak to you about, and I highly doubt its a conversation we should have in the middle of a public street."

Angel gives a small nod in agreement, but says nothing else.  
The entire walk to the park is silent.

What more really needed to be said?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually got another chapter out relatively quickly! Yay!
> 
> Thanks for still reading this far!


	7. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel and Alastor talk a little more seriously this time, but a single phone call cuts things short.

The park was empty, as it normally was. Not too many demons were interested in taking a leisurely stroll in a quaint little park.   
This was hell.

The sky above them only grew darker, but the street lamps scattered around produced a soft glow that made the park seem just a little bit more pleasant, despite the general location being in the depths of hell.

Alastor lead them down deep into the park, and when he felt they would be far enough in to have much needed privacy, he then stopped beside a nearby bench, positioned nicely in front of a pond that struggled to survive in such a harsh world.

Alastor sat down on one side of the bench, and patiently waited for Angel to sit beside him on the other end.

They sit in silence for some time.   
No speaking.  
Just the silence of the evening.  
The pond's gentle surface glistened beneath the various glows of the lamps in the area.

It was the perfect place to not be bothered by anyone else.  
  


Still, minutes go by, and yet silence remains between the two of them.

Alastor knew he'd need to be the first to speak, but it was more of a matter of _how_ he can actually speak here.  
How could he speak to Angel without upsetting him further?   
Alastor was charismatic, sure. He knew how to talk to people. He knew how to get on their good side.

But this?  
This was entirely different.  
He generally lacked empathy, and it was something that had always been a part of him.  
Of course, it never mattered to him for so long when he chose to go down the paths that he did!

...  
But now Angel was here beside him and... He actually felt kind of _bad_ for him.  
He couldn't explain why Angel brought this out of him.  
In fact, he couldn't understand _why_ he was putting in as much effort as he was for Angel in the first place.

He thought that maybe, _maybe_ by talking together, he might be able to understand why he was feeling so conflicted about this. (And maybe in the process, help Angel out a little bit too.)  
  


  
Finally, he was ready to speak.

"Angel, first, let me apologize. When I was asking you about your request, I meant no harm to you. So I am sorry that it may have come off as cruel."

Angel stays silent for a moment. His gaze looking out along the pond while he tried to get a handle on his own thoughts and emotions about everything.  
He had a lot to think about.

"No it's... It's not _your_ fault. See like..." He sighs, trying to find the way to explain properly. "It's just... When people talk like that to me, it's always like they're looking down on me. They think I'm stupid or being incompetent or some shit like that, y'know..? And ... You bein' kinda... Like... Who you are an' stuff... I just sorta thought you were thinkin' I was stupid too." 

Ah, yes. That's what Alastor thought it might be related to. He may not have known everything about Angel's history, but he was certain Valentino must have made him feel that way a lot.  
  


Alastor leans back a bit against the bench. His gaze also locked onto the pond in front of them.  
"No, Angel. My intent was not to insult your intelligence or competence. I sincerely wanted to understand why you chose what you did. I'm sure you know I must grant plenty of deals with others, so I have an idea how things will go, what certain people might like to get from me. And, well- And please don't take offense to this- I assumed that you may have asked to either have your 'one true love' or something along those lines. Either that, or I honestly thought you may have wished to be free of Valentino's grasp. So it came as quite a shock to me when you only asked to go on a single date, and me of all people."

Angel looks down at a pair of his hands that cling to each other uncomfortably in his lap.   
Of course Alastor hadn't meant to be disrespectful to him. Angel just took it the wrong way.  
Everything going on as of late had been making _everything_ bother him.  
Still, he _did_ have a reason for why he hadn't asked to get away from Valentino, or why he didn't ask for his "true love".  
  
"I didn't want to ask to be free of Valentino because I just... It wouldn't work. No matter how far away I got, he could find me. Even if he couldn't get me directly, he'd find a way around it. Probably send someone else after me. I know how this stuff goes... Valentino is powerful down here... It's _never_ as easy as just running away."

He pauses for just a moment, getting his thoughts together on the reason why he didn't go with the second option Alastor mentioned.  
"And then I didn't want to just have some 'great boyfriend' because there's so much that could go wrong with that! How would I know he wasn't just forced to believe he loves me? Or like... What if he only likes me in the beginning and then things get bad, like... Like with _him_. What if... What if it's more _pretend_ shit?"

Truthfully, he couldn't remember a relationship he's had that _wasn't_ pretend.   
Both when he walked the Earth, and even down here in the darkest reaches of the end.

"If I have a boyfriend, I... I want it to be _real_. I want it to actually be like... Y'know, _genuine_. I want to be able to like them, and I want them to like me too. You can't just... _Make_ that happen."

Alastor slowly nods.  
"I see. So then you decided to choose a fake date with me?"  
"Yeah... See if you set up a date for with any other demon, I'd know they just kinda want to go on the date 'cuz I'm Angel Dust, right? I'm a fuckin' porn star in hell. Anyone that's even just a little interested in agreeing to date me, is probably also lookin' for the chance to fuck me too. They'd be there because of somethin' stupid like that. Not because they actually like _me_. They like what I _do_ , that's all they're interested in."

That made sense. Angel seemed to be living a life where he felt he really couldn't trust anyone, save for a few people like Cherri.  
Still, surely there had to have been something _better_ he could have asked for than just a date, right..?

"Alright. I suppose I can understand that, but... Doesn't having a fake date feel worse? You are indulging in something that you wish was real. You know that, yes? Doesn't that hurt you?"

Honestly, Alastor was right. Dead on even.  
Somehow Angel thought this pretend date thing would be fun, and he went in _knowing_ it was fake.  
While the date really was fun, the aftermath was painful.  
Though... Maybe less painful than it would have been for his other options to have eventually failed on him.  
Imagine tasting freedom, only to be right back at square one.  
Imagine to think you've found your soulmate, only for all your dreams to be crushed months, maybe even _years_ later, when it will hurt the most.  
He wouldn't know how to carry on.

"Yeah. It does hurt... Guess it don't matter what I pick huh?" Angel gives a sad smile, finally looking up to see Alastor.

Alastor looks at Angel as well, but he's finding it awfully hard to keep him own signature smile on.   
This was just sad.  
It was a sad situation.  
Sad circumstances.

Alastor's deal with Angel had only been to make good on a deal he had with a different demon.  
He meant nothing against Angel with their deal, and had no foul intentions, and yet... This still made him feel... Kind of _terrible_. 

Angel took this deal _knowing_ he'd never really be satisfied anyway. He had already decided that there was _nothing_ Alastor could really give him to improve his situation.  
He felt that not even the _Radio Demon_ , one of the most powerful demons to currently roam hell, could help him.  
So all he asked for, was basically just to have a pleasant dream.

"Angel, why..? If you were aware things wouldn't change for you, then why did you agree to a deal at all?"

Angel chuckles and leans back against the bench.  
"You know? I don't know... I guess I just... I dunno." He sighs sadly, looking back out at the pond.

"The company was nice. You're kinda creepy but at least I know any time we talk, it's not 'cause you're lookin' for a fuck or something like that." 

Angel smiles a little. That much was true.   
He enjoyed Alastor's company.  
He was definitely kind of creepy, but he wasn't like anyone else he'd really known.  
Angel had been warming up to all of the hotel staff, but part of him wouldn't let him believe that those people _really_ cared about his well being.  
They pitied him.  
They were reacting in a way because they felt bad for him.  
Not because they wanted to be around him.  
...  
At least... That's how he felt about it.

  
Alastor gives a small nod, he too looks back out at the pond.  
"You know, I have to agree with you. I believe I've been enjoying your company as well. I always took you for being quite simple-minded, but... You're a lot more complex than most of the filth running around down here."  
"Oh my god, what the hell was that? I don't know if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult!"

Angel laughs a little, briefly going on about how bad Alastor was at trying to make a compliment, but Alastor only hears bits and pieces of it.  
Something about hearing Angel laugh, seeing him in a _genuinely_ good mood... It made Alastor feel good too.  
It felt nice to see Angel _happy_.

If anything, this conversation that he was hoping would make him understand more, made him understand _less._  
He found himself sincerely enjoying Angel's company.  
He wanted to talk to Angel more.  
He wanted to spend more time around Angel.

... Why?

Though, he snapped out of it when Angel spoke again, but this time his tone was different.  
Quieter, slower.  
 _Sad_.

"Listen, Al. We can still count this as the date okay? You got bigger fish to fry anyways, right?"

Angel forces a smile, but it just makes Alastor's gut twist.   
Despite both of them being well aware how much Angel wanted to have that date, and how much it hurts him to have to let it go... And he does his best to end it with a smile?  
Why?  
No, no. He couldn't let it just end like that.  
It wouldn't be fair.  
Yeah.

"Angel, I would still like to take you on a proper date. This wouldn't be very fair to you otherwise."  
"It _is_ fair. I'm saying this is fair. Okay?"  
"You can't really-"

Alastor stopped. Angel's cell phone began to ring, and it was the single moment the rest of the evening fell apart.  
  
He took it out to look at it briefly, planning on just sending the call straight to voicemail, but then he saw who was trying to contact him.  
It was clear by the way Angel's expression changed, and the way he tensed up.  
 _Valentino had called him.  
_  
"Oh uh... Al, I'm _really_ sorry, I have to answer this. Give me a sec,"

Angel stood up from the bench, walking just a few feet away to talk on the phone a little more privately.  
Alastor wasn't really upset about the interruption. At least, not upset at Angel for it.  
No, he had this odd, rising anger within him directed at Valentino.  
He knew this call had to have been from him.  
  


"Hey uh, do you need something?"  
. . .  
"What?"  
. . .  
"Why? I haven't done anything, I-"  
. . .  
"No..."  
. . .  
"No, I'm telling you-"  
. . .  
"But I made up for it already! This isn't fair!"  
. . .  
"What? No!! I've... I have a place I'm already staying!"  
. . .  
"N...No... It's a different one."  
. . .  
"But I-" 

This time he's not cut off by the demon yelling on the other end, but because he was hung up on. Not on a good note either.

He looked down at his phone.  
His heart was racing now.  
Panic was beginning to set in.  
No...  
No....  
What was he going to do?

"Angel?"  
"Huh?"

Angel turns around back to Alastor, who approaches him.  
"Angel, what's going on?"  
"I... I can't... Um..." He couldn't answer.   
And how could he?  
Cries for help would get him no where.  
In fact, they might even make things _worse_.

Alastor waits for Angel to answer him properly, but when he doesn't, Alastor just accepts it as it is.   
Something wasn't right, but Alastor could at least get Angel back home to the hotel before anything happened.  
"You seem... Upset. Do you want to go back to the hotel?"

The hotel.  
When Angel was waiting outside the hotel for Alastor, _he_ must have seen them.  
He knew.  
He knew where Angel was staying now.

"I... I don't know..." He instinctively wrapped his arms around himself, as if it would somehow help him to remain calm.  
He looked around their surroundings.   
He needed to look over his shoulder.  
He wasn't safe.  
Not anymore.

"Was it Valentino?"  
"What?" 

That got his attention back to Alastor relatively quickly.  
"I said, was that Valentino? The one who just called you."   
"Oh... Uh... Yeah... He um... He called me."  
"What did he say to you?"  
"What did he..? Um... It's..." 

He tried to talk, but at the same time he couldn't.   
Every moment that passed was a moment he needed to look around them, every second he needed to be listening for something that sounded off.  
The park was _maybe_ a safe place to be at the moment, but he didn't know for how long.  
He didn't know where he could go now.

"Angel."  
"Oh, yeah?"  
"What did he say to you? You're acting very differently now."  
"I... Alastor I gotta go,"  
"Then let me walk you back."  
"No! No... I... I'm not goin' to the hotel right now."  
"Then where exactly are you headed?"  
"I-I don't know okay!? I don't know!! Valentino is gonna fuckin' kill me! He found out I've been stayin' at Charlie's hotel! He saw us goin' out together, and he's pissed about it!"  
"Are you telling me that he has an issue with you going on a date?"  
"I guess?! I don't know! He... He said he's going to come find me. He's gonna keep me somewhere else. I... I don't even know where. I don't _want_ to know! Look, Al, I need to go. This can count as the date okay? The deal is finished! Go do whatever you need to do, I have to go! I'm sorry."

Angel turned and left. Alastor wanted to stop him. He wanted to just... Not leave things like _this_.  
But what could he say?  
What exactly should he do?  
He should help right?  
But... Angel's confirmation of the deal being finished to him, truly ended the bond that he had to Angel's soul, and he was free to carry on with whatever business he had.  
He no longer needed to do anything for Angel.

But still he...

God, what was wrong with him?

For the one to always orchestrate the perfect deals, and always to come out on top, his very own deal left _himself_ unsatisfied.

No, no, this wasn't right.  
He was Alastor.  
He was _the_ Radio Demon.  
Little things like this didn't matter.  
This was the part where he goes on about his day.

  
Angel wasn't even part of his major goals, so this should be the end of it!

...But something in him just _wouldn't_ let things end like the way they had.

But why?  
What was going on with him?  
What was he still missing?

Perhaps it was how simple Angel was.  
How _real_ his issues were.  
And even when he had the chance to get just about _anything_ he really wanted, he asked for something so small, and so simple.  
Angel was a surprisingly different soul to be down in hell.  
And for someone who seemed so much _sweeter_ than most of the demons down here, he wondered why Angel was down here at all.  
Angel seemed far too good to be in a place like this.  
He was far from perfect, but he certainly hadn't been like anyone else down here.

Or maybe...  
Maybe it was because Alastor enjoyed their conversations they've had so far.  
He enjoyed the company.  
He enjoyed _Angel's_ company.  
The sweetness of his smile.  
The genuine happiness in his voice when he laughed.  
The way his eyes lit up when he was excited.

But to leave things like this..?  
Angel was not happy in the way he'd left at all.  
Paranoid.  
Anxious.  
Terrified.

And he hated it.  
He hated seeing Angel so torn down and...

And it had all been caused by Valentino.

Valentino was crushing the only real light that survived in hell.

He was killing it.

He was _torturing_ it.

He'd never been a fan of Val in the first place, but he'd never felt such a deep, seething hatred for someone in so long.  
Angel didn't deserve what he was being put through, and there was no way in all of hell he'd sit back and do nothing.

Angel was different to him.  
Angel was special.  
And he would no longer belong to Valentino.

Alastor wasn't going to stand by and let his light be snuffed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone again whose still reading!   
> I didn't expect this chapter to get quite as long when I was writing for "Angel and Alastor to sit down and have a chat" but here we are. ^^;
> 
> Also thank you for all the support I've had writing this so far. It means a lot to me!


	8. Bad Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel is forced back to Valentino's if he doesn't want to endanger the people close to him.  
> Now with Angel missing, Alastor confronts Valentino to get him back. Valentino agrees, for the right price.

  
Angel nervously walked through the park until he'd reached the exit, and decided to stick to as many back roads and streets with busted lamps as he could.  
He wanted to be hidden.  
He didn't want to be found.

The streets felt eerily silent now. It must have been most likely due to him trying to take back roads, and trying to slip through alleys, but something about this silence still felt off.

He'd made his way in no particular direction for a while before finally deciding that if he couldn't go back to the hotel right now, maybe he could go to visit Cherri.

He'd be safe there for a little while right?

...

But then what if Val found out he went _there_ too? Then Cherri could get dragged into this!  
He definitely didn't want that.  
No.  
He could figure this out himself.

He decided to hide in a dead-end alley, as far into a corner behind a few piles of junk to better stay hidden.  
Maybe if a few hours went by, it would be safe to stop at the hotel, at least for a moment.

He'd grab some important stuff, some clothes, and of course Fat Nuggets.  
Then he'd go somewhere else.   
He didn't know where yet, but anywhere to stay away from Valentino was good enough.  
He still couldn't understand why going on a date had suddenly angered Val so much.  
Was it because Angel had been messing up a lot lately?  
Was it because it was Alastor?  
Did Valentino even know Alastor?

He didn't know.  
He didn't have any answers, but it didn't matter that much.  
He just wanted to survive.

* * *

A few hours went by and when he thought it might be safe, Angel made his way back to Charlie's hotel.  
Everything was still uncomfortably quiet, but he tried desperately to not let his paranoia get the best of him right now.

Once inside the hotel, he was again, relieved that no one was in the lobby.   
Everyone had probably gone to sleep by now.

He wasted no time in getting up to his room, and grabbing an old backpack from the closet that he hadn't really needed to use in ages.  
He tossed it on the bed, rummaging through his drawers, pulling out clothing, and personal belongings he wanted with him.   
Everything was shoved down in the bag, he didn't feel he had the time to organize it properly.

"Hey Nuggs, I'm sorry but we're gonna have to leave a lotta your toys behind for now okay? I'll get you more as soon as I can, promise, but we gotta leave for a little while, 'kay?"  
He turned around, assuming Fat Nuggets to have been sitting on his little pet bed, but he wasn't there.

"Hm? Nuggs, come on out. We gotta get out of here," Angel got down on the floor to look underneath his bed, but found nothing.

"Nuggets?" Where had he gone off to?   
Fat Nuggets usually always came to greet Angel as soon as he walked in the door but... Where was he?  
He began to pull things out of the closet, out of the drawers, he turned the room upside down searching for his pet pig as the awful possibility crossed his mind, and panic began to set in on him all over again.

"Fat Nuggets where are you?!" He yanks the last pillow off his bed, but there is nothing to be found underneath that either.

"Okay, okay. Uh... Maybe he got out the door, and he's just runnin' around the hotel. Yeah. I bet he went to go bug Husk! I'll go ask him, I-"

Just before his hand reached the door, he heard the undeniable text message notification sound go off on his phone.  
He completely froze in place.  
Part of him knew just what he'd see.  
This was a bad dream wasn't it?  
Couldn't he just wake up?  
Before everything got so bad?  
Before _everything_?

 _No_. He told himself.  
 _No, no, no._ _  
This is a bad dream.  
All of this is a bad dream.  
_

He slowly reached over to pick up his phone where he'd carelessly tossed it on night stand beside the bed while he was searching his room.

He pressed the button, and when the screen lit up he could already start to feel his stomach tie itself into knots.

One message.  
From Valentino.  
Just a moment ago.

His heart was pounding.  
He felt himself trembling.  
 _Please_ , this had to be a dream.

He unlocked the phone, and stared down at the message app button. His thumb just hovering above it, terrified to look at just what he'd been sent.

He presses his thumb down on the button, and finally pulls up the unread message.

  
The text across the screen makes everything around him feel more and more like a bad dream.  
However, in bad dreams, at least he could wake up.  
But here?   
No.

The phone slips through trembling fingers, and hits the floor with a thud.   
It's the only sound heard as the rest of the room is bathed in complete silence.

It only took another moment before his legs felt weak beneath him, and he dropped to his knees.  
Every second that ticked by felt like an eternity.  
There was no way out.  
He didn't know why he thought he could run.  
He didn't even get the _chance_ to.  
Everything was over before he got the chance to start.

He looked down again at the illuminated screen of his cell phone.

"Listen to me Angelcakes, you've been making things pretty fuckin difficult for me so I'm giving you one last chance before I take away every last fucking thing you have. Come back to the studio. Now. I got rid of one of your stupid distractions, next time it'll be that fuckin' bitch friend of yours that blows shit up. Now get back here."

Angel slowly looked up towards the ceiling, at nothing in particular.  
He felt small.  
Insignificant.  
Completely defeated.

Nuggets wasn't really... _Gone_... Was he?

Warm tears formed quickly, and already began to fun down his face.  
It hurt.  
Everything hurt.  
This was all his fault.

And now he needed to go back before he lost Cherri too.

He quietly covered his face with his hands, crying into them.  
There was no where to go.  
There was truly nothing good to be found down here.  
Only misery.

_"This really is hell, isn't it..?"_

* * *

It didn't take much longer for Angel to arrive back at the studio, but every single step of the way it felt like a little piece of him was really, truly dying. For good.

He made his way inside, and up to Valentino's room.   
A room he had far too many cruel memories of, and he knew he'd have a new terrible memory to add to that.

He takes in a deep breath before finally knocking on the door.   
He hears Valentino speak, "Come in." and proceeds to open the door, and take a few steps inside.

He see's Valentino sitting on the bed, but what really made his heart sink was when he saw the small pet carrier, but it was too dark to see if maybe Fat Nuggets was inside.  
A part of him desperately hoped his Nuggets was still alive and safe.

"Oh good, you decided to show yourself. You know, I've been getting real sick of your behavior."

Angel doesn't respond.   
Nothing he could say would change this situation.  
He had to try to be good this time.  
Cherri could be in danger if he wasn't.

Valentino stood up from the bed as he continued.  
"You think I won't know what's going on? Do you think I'm fucking stupid?"  
"No, sir."   
"Did you forget that I own you?"  
"No."  
"So then what the _fuck_ was going through that stupid little head of yours when you thought you could start dating for your own sake? Did I give you permission to do that, huh?"  
"No."

Valentino approached Angel until he was standing in front of him.   
"Who was it?"

But Angel didn't respond.  
How could he?  
Alastor didn't need to get involved with this either.  
Sure, Alastor could hold his own, but this had nothing really to do with him in the first place.  
It wasn't even a real date.

However, Valentino was not amused by Angel's silence.  
He grabbed one of Angel's arms, squeezing just a little too hard.  
"When I ask you a question, you answer me."  
"It was no one... We... Were breaking up."  
"Hm..."

Valentino lets go of Angel's arm, and paces seemingly calmly around Angel before stopping behind him.  
Angel however, doesn't make any moves.   
He knew better.

"So when exactly did I give you permission to start dating for your own personal pleasure, hm? Did you forget about that too?"

Angel could feel Valentino's hand come up to rest on his shoulder, the disgusting warmth of his breath right beside his neck.  
"We talked about this didn't we..?" His tone is a sickeningly gentle whisper.   
The kind of voice that wants to trick you into feeling safe right before you get hurt.  
The hand on his shoulder tightens it's grip a little, and Angel instinctively tenses up, trying to prepare himself for whatever was going to happen.

And it happened, just as expected.

"YOU ONLY FUCK AROUND WHEN IT MAKES _ME_ MONEY!!!"   
Angel is given really no time to react, as he's roughly shoved into the closest wall.  
After impact, he makes an attempt to move, but Valentino is already in front of him, hands gripped around Angel's neck and robbing him of air.

"How many fucking times do I have to fucking punish you before you listen to me!?"   
Valentino finally lets go of Angel's neck, but only after knocking him down on the floor.

"Do you think this is fucking funny, huh? You think this is some kinda god damn game?!" 

Valentino begins to step towards Angel, who is already using his arms and legs to push himself backwards as much as he can until he feels the wall against his back.

"Please I- This is a misunderstanding! I-I'm sorry!"  
"Oh you're gonna be real fuckin' sorry!"

The next few moments were nothing short of agony.  
It wasn't long until his body was curled up on the floor, a pair of arms desperately trying to cover his head while the others wrapped around himself.

He could smell the iron.  
He could taste the strong metallic flavor.  
He could see the crimson staining the carpet just in front of him.

Everything hurt, but it only lasted for a short time before he fell unconscious, and slipped into darkness.

* * *

  
The hellish morning sun had since risen, and had been up for a few hours now.  
Alastor found himself waiting patiently (though his patience was wearing quite thin) in the lobby of the porn studio to speak with Valentino.  
At least the couch was kind of comfortable.

It was quiet at the moment. Too early for shows or recordings to begin.  
So early that Valentino was really taking his sweet time in coming down to meet with Alastor.

He was lucky he finally decided to show his filthy, ratty self, because Alastor had been very close to just barging into wherever his room was to have a good little "talk".  
Alastor was, after all, still concerned about how things were going with Angel, but what bothered him even more is that _Angel never came back to the hotel last night._  
He had every reason to believe Valentino was behind it.  
  


Still, despite his disgust and complete disdain for Valentino, Alastor's smile never faltered.   
Though there was definitely a fury behind it this time.  
He knew Valentino must be involved, and to think about what he might have been doing to Angel infuriated him.  
Unfortunately, he'd searched up and down hell, and had _no_ idea where Angel was.  
He felt that Valentino must be hiding him somewhere now.

Now he could finally question him.

"Ah! Valentino, good to see you've _finally_ decided to come show yourself! If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you assumed it was okay to just keep me waiting!"   
A hint of his irritation found it's way through towards the end of his greeting, and Valentino was very aware of it, but chose to not comment on it.

"Yeah well, you called a little to fucking early. I run a busy gig you know? Late nights. Now what do you want?"  
Valentino sat down on the couch across from Alastor, putting down a cup of coffee on the glass coffee table in between both of the couches.

"Well I'd like to keep this short and to the point! So I won't be _too_ long. So I'd very much like to know, _where is Angel Dust?_ "  
Alastor's piercing eyes looked to Valentino, who was startled by the question and nearly choked on his coffee.

"What? Why the fuck do you care? What are you, his fuckin' mother?"  
"Oh my! You think you're a funny little man, don't you?"  
"What? What the fu-"  
"No, no! Don't interrupt me."

Alastor stood up from the couch, peering down at Valentino who was still seated there.  
"Let me break this down for you. I have had no reason currently, to start any _issues_ with you. But you see, it's very important to me that I know where Angel has gone off to, and I do believe you're the last one to have seen him. So where is he?"

Valentino stared up at Alastor. If that coffee hadn't woken him up out of a daze, Alastor certainly had.  
He was frozen for a moment.   
Definitely a bit scared. This _was_ Alastor he was speaking to, and Alastor was making an obvious threat to him now.  
But he was also confused.  
Angel was _so_ unimportant, so small, so completely _insignificant_.  
What did Alastor want with him? 

But no.

Valentino narrowed his eyes. He would _not_ get intimidated by Alastor.   
He was still one of hell's Overlords, and the last thing he wanted to do was back down from a threat over _Angel Dust,_ of all demons.

"First of all, Angelcakes is one of my fucking workers, understand? I run a business if it's not fuckin' obvious to you."  
"Oh yes, I'm aware. However, Angel did not return to his place of residence last night, and that is _very_ unlike him. Additionally, he seemed quite upset over a phone call he received from _you_ that same evening."

Valentino leaned back against the couch.  
"Maybe he stayed over at a fucking hotel, how should I know? He's a slut! It's what he does!"

Valentino stood up from the couch.  
"This is a waste of my fucking time, go away." He turned to leave, but when Alastor spoke again, he froze.

"How should you know?? As far as I'm aware you _control_ and _stalk_ Angel every step of the way. So I do believe you know exactly where he is."

He felt an ice cold hand against his shoulder, and Alastor's voice right behind him.  
"I'll give you one last chance to answer me. If you lie to me again I can't promise you'll even wake up tomorrow. How does that sound?"

Valentino whips around, desperately wanting to get Alastor's chilling hand off of him.  
"What the hell is your issue!? Why the fuck do you care where that bitch is?! How do you even know if I'm actually keeping him? How did you even know I fucking called him last nig-" 

He stops for just a moment.

"Wait... It was you. _You're_ the fucking guy I saw take him out, aren't you?"

Alastor doesn't respond.  
That was information he really _didn't_ want anyone knowing right now.  
That was all for a deal with Angel, and it didn't necessarily reflect his true feelings about the spider.  
He was still processing his own thoughts and feelings about all of it, but what he _did_ know, was that Angel was a light of warmth.  
Something about that made him want to desperately protect Angel, especially now.

"Where is he? I won't ask again."  
"If you try to start a fucking war with me you're still gonna have your own fucking hands tied. You think you're gonna have time to search for Angel when you're dealing with _everything_ I can throw at you?"  
"Are you challenging me Valentino?"  
"Get out of my studio. Even _if_ you wipe me out of fucking existence, how're you gonna find Angel then, huh? How about this, you gimme a couple days. and then I'll show you where he is."   
"...Fine th-"  
"But!"

Valentino grinned deviously.  
"We're gonna make a deal out of this first, since I know just how much you like them." 

Alastor was finding it increasingly difficult to not rip this awful creature before him into tiny pieces.  
"Alright. What do you want then?"  
"Oh, I'm real glad you fuckin' asked! In exchange for me showing you where Angel is;   
One: You're not gonna fucking come after me after you find him.   
And two- and this is the _good_ one..."

* * *

This was frustrating.  
No.  
Frustrating was an _understatement_.  
  
Alastor truly had no idea where Angel had disappeared to.  
He searched around just about everywhere he could think of, so wherever Angel was now was _hidden_ , and finding it was proving to be difficult.  
He even searched around the studio as much as he could to find Angel, but didn't seem to find him anywhere.  
  
Though, on the bright side, he _did_ find Angel's pet pig, Fat Nuggets, who was safe and unharmed in a small pet carrier.  
He would take Fat Nuggets back to the hotel and see if one of the other staff members could watch over him for the time being until Angel had returned home.

. . .

He couldn't believe this.

He had been hoping that he could have just scared the information out of Valentino with intimidation and threats but unfortunately, Val ended up not buying into it.

In the end he'd made a deal where he definitely didn't come out on top, but he _needed_ to find Angel.

He actually...  
He was actually missing their conversations.  
He was missing the company.  
He was _genuinely_ missing Angel.

  
He would still make Valentino pay for this when it was all said and done, even if he wasn't allowed to just _kill_ him, as part of the deal.  
He just needed to find Angel first, and bring him home.  
  


Even if he had to agree to some bullshit terms, it would be worth it.  
Angel felt important to him, and he couldn't remember the last time he really cared for someone like this.

. . .

He... He _cared_ about Angel.

To what degree, he wasn't sure.  
But he knew he wouldn't put forth so much effort to help anyone, not like this.

How funny it was though, that with all the power in the world, he couldn't seem to keep one person, one single person that he actually _cared_ for, safe.

No matter.

He would find Angel.

He would protect this light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say thanks again to everyone who has still been reading, and thank you for all the support! 
> 
> I hope this chapter came out okay though! My headphones just broke like, a day ago, and writing without music is super hard for me .v.; 
> 
> Anyway, thank you again to everyone whose been reading! c:


	9. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor attempts to keep his end of the deal between him and Valentino, but he can't take what he's seeing any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME ABUSIVE THEMES AND LANGUAGE!! So please skip this chapter if that makes you uncomfortable!!
> 
> This chapter took me quite a while to write up, but I hope it turned out okay!

  
A few days had passed, all without word back from Valentino.  
Alastor had attempted to be patient, but today he'd head back to the studio and demand Valentino show him to Angel. 

He couldn't shake the feeling that something awful was happening with Angel, and he didn't care if Valentino "felt like" showing him where Angel was yet.  
A few days was more than enough time, and he wouldn't wait around any longer.

He _couldn't_ wait any longer.

All this time away from Angel made him feel... Wrong.  
It... Felt empty.  
Again, Angel brought out so many different feelings in him, that he didn't know how to even attempt to deal with it.  
But he did know that being around Angel made him feel at _ease_ , and he wanted to feel that again.

* * *

It didn't take very long for him to arrive back at the studio, and he wasted no time in approaching Valentino's "V.I.P." room and knocking on the door aggressively.

"Oh Valentino! I do believe you have a little something you _owe_ me, and I feel that it's time to pay up!"

He heard some shuffling, and then the door opened to reveal a very annoyed looking Valentino.

"The fuck do you want?"  
"We had a deal. I believe I've waited long enough. Where is Angel?"

Valentino stayed quiet for a moment, leaning against the door frame, clearly unhappy about the situation in front of him.  
He seems irritated at first, but it was like he'd remembered something and an amused grin formed on his face.  
"Sure. Come with me."

Valentino leaves the room, and walks down a few hallways before reaching an elevator.  
"It's faster taking the elevator,"

Alastor makes no response but joins him in the elevator as well.   
He watches intently as Valentino presses the buttons on the elevator number pad.   
He wants to know where they're going.  
He wants to know where this place is.  
He wants to know how to get back, just in case.

Valentino presses the lowest basement button, and simultaneously holds down two other numbers.   
Eight, and nine.   
Alastor would keep this in mind.  
  


The elevator proceeded to go down.  
and down.  
and down. 

. . .

  
Wherever they were going, had been so far beneath the basement floor that Alastor wasn't surprised he hadn't found this spot.  
He had searched much of the studio on his own in search for Angel days prior, but he wasn't aware of this.   
Even from the basement level, he hadn't found _any_ way from the basement to go down even further.

Though... If this was something Valentino really was trying to keep hidden, he supposed it wouldn't be that easy to find.

On the bright side, he'd know how to get to this destination in case Valentino tried to prevent him from actually getting Angel out of here tonight.  
  


  
"We'll be there in just a few, Alastor."  
"Good."  
"And you remember the agreement we made, right?"

Alastor already began to feel infuriated by this question.   
Of _course_ he remembered the deal.  
This was like Alastor's _job_.  
He was a deal maker.  
Though he was sure in this instance he'd gotten the short end of the deal, but he felt like he _needed_ to find Angel.

"My apologies, but did you forget exactly _who_ you made a deal with? There's only _one_ incompetent demon in this elevator, and it certainly isn't me!"  
A laugh track seemingly plays from Alastor, and Valentino grumbles and rolls his eyes before responding.

"You never did tell me why you wanted Angel back so badly. What the fuck is up with that?"  
"Why, that's none of your business!"  
"I sure hope you don't actually _care_ about that slut. An almighty demon overlord like you? Just _imagine_ how Hell would react to knowing if you-"  
"I'm afraid I need to stop you right there! My reasons for finding Angel relate to some other deals I've made. Nothing more, nothing less."

He was still struggling with why he actually felt such a strong need to help Angel.  
Why he wanted to go through such great lengths to get him out of here.  
The reason he'd come up with so far was that there was something different about Angel than other demons that he'd crossed paths with before.  
He just... Wanted more time with Angel.  
Then he could understand better.  
He could understand what the hell was going on with him.

"Ugh, whatever." Was Valentino's last response while the elevator traveled down.

The rest of the ride was silent.

. . .

Finally, the elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open to show a small room made of concrete from top to bottom, and a metal door at the end.

Valentino steps out of the elevator first, and approaches the door.  
"Just reminding you, part of our bargain is that you don't get to run off with him right away. You're here for an hour, unless I say otherwise."

This demand hadn't made Alastor concerned earlier when making the deal, but now that he was standing by this door, the one Angel may be behind, it made him _worry_.  
What if he was too late?  
He wants to just head in himself, ignore the deal altogether and just find Angel.

However, Alastor doesn't respond to Valentino. He is bound by the deal until it is complete. There is nothing for him to say.  
He has no _real_ way out of this.

  
Valentino finally reaches for the handle, and pulls open the door.  
The first thing Alastor noticed was the next room was massive.  
It felt like he was looking into a warehouse, but instead of stacked boxes and crates, were several demons.

If he hadn't believed Valentino was evil, he would have now.

Laid evenly apart from each other in row after row were worn old mattresses, that held the near-lifeless bodies of several of Valentino's "missing" workers, being used like toys by a bunch of other awful demons.  
Cries and pleads to be let go filled the sickening air, and the entire sight made Alastor feel just the slightest bit sick to his stomach.

"Well Alastor? Let's go, you want to see Angel don't you?" Valentino has the slightest hint of a devious grin that only angers Alastor further.  
Angel was _here?_  
In a place like _this?_

He never wanted to completely obliterate someone more than he wanted to do so to Valentino right now.  
"Just take me to Angel." He was finding it harder, and harder to keep his cool now.  
  


As they walked down past the rows, Alastor had noticed how completely defeated all of these previous workers were.  
This was completely different from what their work used to be.  
It was long past the line of just sex work or leisure time.  
These demons were _trapped_ here.  
Against their will.  
With no way out.  
And no one to call for help.  
  
This was a prison.  
This was hell.

They walked straight down until reaching the other end of the massive room, where they were met with a couple more doors.

"Angel is still new down here, so he gets his own room for a while. The smaller space really breaks them in you know?" Valentino snickers and places his hand on the handle of one of the doors.

This was it, right?  
Angel was here.  
Alastor would find him.  
He could get Angel away from all of this.   
That light that Angel was couldn't be left to die out.  
Not here.  
Not now.

But as Valentino's hand reached closer to the door handle, an uncomfortable pit began to form inside of Alastor, one that he couldn't understand.  
Thoughts raced through his mind in the mere moments left before he could see Angel.  
Was Angel okay?  
What state was he in?  
What if Alastor really was too late to do anything?

Valentino opened the door, and this time they were met with a normal sized bedroom, but it felt like anything but a comforting room for resting.  
Like the rest of this underground area, the walls and floor were made of the same cold concrete.  
A single uncovered light fixture was in the center of the ceiling, leaving a dim, flickering, yellow-ish glow to the room.

The floor only held a single, worn out mattress, similar to the ones in the larger room before this one.

And there, on top of it, curled up and left cold and naked was Angel Dust. 

"Angel!" Alastor's eyes widened ever so slightly, and he took a step forward, only to be stopped when Valentino's arm came down in front of him.  
"You stay right fucking there."

Alastor couldn't find it within him to respond. He was absolutely _enraged_ by this.   
He wanted nothing short of ripping Valentino to pieces and yet he was bound by their deal.  
His arms were at his sides, hands balled so tight into fists he could feel his claws beginning to dig into the palms of his hands to satisfy his rage.

He had one hour at most to listen to Valentino before he was allowed to take Angel away from all of this.  
One hour was suddenly feeling far too long.

  
Valentino approached Angel, who, despite hearing them enter, didn't move at all.  
"Angelcakes, look. Daddy brought you a little _friend_ ~"

Again, Angel clearly heard the words spoken to him, but he couldn't bring himself to move.   
He had already heard Alastor's voice. He knew who it was.  
And that made him feel that much worse.  
Now Alastor had to bear witness to all of his weakness, and humiliation.  
And how cruel this was, because he couldn't even wish for _death_ to free him from all of this.  
He was already dead.  
There really was no way out.  
  


Valentino only waited a few moments before his sweeter tone turned to anger and he immediately started by kicking Angel in the stomach, resulting in a pained cry from him before he finally moved to sit up, staring up at Valentino completely terrified.  
"See this shit!? This is why you're fucking down here!! You don't fucking listen to me!!" 

Alastor couldn't deal with seeing this.  
He moved forward and grabbed Valentino's shoulder to turn him around and face him.  
"I didn't come here to see you abuse him!! I came here to take him home!!"  
" _Home?_ You know Alastor, I'm really wondering where you stand in all of this." Valentino grinned, and that made Alastor that much more angry.  
  
"I told you already, I need Angel for finishing some other unrelated deals."  
"Then what's the problem Alastor? I'm sure whatever you'd need a fucking whore for, wouldn't take very long right? But you sound more like you're... Hm... Well a lot like you're trying to _keep_ him rather than _borrow_ him."  
"My other deals are none of your concern."  
"Hm, alright, but I'm going to remind you _again_ Alastor, to stand there. I wouldn't want you fucking up any of my plans you know?"  
"I'm a busy man Valentino, I haven't got all day for any of your stupid plans or your equally idiotic games."  
"Sure, of course. But we made a deal for one hour max, right? So you're going to listen to me."

This was a mistake.   
Alastor rushed into this deal so desperate to find Angel, and it only put him in a tighter spot.  
How could he have fucked up so badly?  
This wasn't like him.  
He always came out on top with his deals.  
  
But now he had to stand here and do nothing.  
He had to act powerless for an _hour_.  
And it only got worse from there.

Valentino thought it might be funny to show off the torment Angel had been going through the last few days while he was kept down here.  
Which further explained why he didn't want Alastor to to act on what he saw.

Valentino peered out of the doorway again to call out to a few other demons in the larger room, declaring that "Angel is free!"

In just minutes they were already on top of Angel like filthy animals, treating him like battered toy.

Alastor couldn't remember a time where he had been this angry.  
This _disgusted_ by something.

They laughed at Angel, calling him awful, demeaning things.   
Valentino continued to talk down to him. About how stupid he was. Letting him know this was "all he was good for."

All of Angel's cries and pleas for help, and to "stop" were ignored.   
His voice was broken up, tired, desperate, it sounded like speaking at all just _hurt_.

Alastor's claws only dug further down into the palms of his hands.   
His body trembled with pure hatred.

He told himself to wait.  
He would get Angel home soon.  
This would end soon.  
He was bound by the deal, what more could he do?

He tried to remain still but even when they had _finished_ they weren't done with tormenting this already broken soul.

They laughed at Angel some more.   
Told him how disgusting he was.   
How filthy he was.   
Angel only tried to go back to his previous position to be curled up in the tiniest ball he could possibly make to try and make the world around him fade away.  
The only thing that seemed to come from him were shaky sobs and the desperate begging in his voice saying again, and again "please". 

The other demons finally left the room, and it was again, just Alastor, Valentino and Angel alone in here now.  
Surely this was more than enough to have satisfied Valentino's end of the deal.

"Valentino, I waited like you asked, now I'm taking him-"  
"It hasn't been a fucking hour yet, so no. You're not going anywhere. I've got a few more minutes,"

Valentino grinned and knelt down beside Angel, and grazed his claws against Angel's cheek to get him to look up at him.  
"Are you my good boy, Angel?" His voice had that sickening sweetness to it.   
Even _now_ , he still toyed with Angel.   
Speaking as if he was some gentle benevolent being, when all he did was tear Angel apart.

"I... I-I'm your... I'm... I-" He couldn't speak. He couldn't do this. He couldn't. He stuttered over his words, and Valentino got impatient all too quickly.

The gentle hand against Angel's cheek turned vicious and dug it's claws down in, but still didn't let go.

"You're gonna do something for me, understand Angel?"  
Angel nodded slowly in response. If it meant he'd be spared some pain, then that was enough for him.

"Do you see Alastor over there?"  
He nods again.

"He decided to go take you home today, but you just need to do one thing for daddy first, alright?"  
"What..?"  
"See, I don't think your friend here understands you're a stupid little bitch. So you're gonna show him what you are right now."  
"Wait I... What are you talking about? Val, I don-"

Claws dig deeper into Angel again and he stops speaking.  
"You're gonna touch yourself right here, in front of him until you cum, sound good? Now spread your fucking legs so he can get a good view." 

Angel's eyes widen and he begins to shake his head frantically.  
As if Alastor having to witness everything else wasn't enough.  
"N... No, I... No! I can't do that!"

Alastor isn't taking this new demand any easier either.  
It was taking _everything_ in him to not beat the ever-loving shit out of Valentino right now.  
This wasn't fair.  
They'd done enough.  
Why couldn't they leave Angel be now?  
Hadn't this light suffered plenty?  
Why did he make this deal?  
He should have known better than this.  
He had just been so desperate to help Angel.  
But in his haste, it only seemed to make things _worse_ for Angel.

Valentino rips his claws free from Angel's face.  
"You do as _I_ say!! Do you want me to fuckin' kill you a second time?! You wanna find out where you'll go after fucking _hell?!_ "

Angel doesnt respond. He just places a hand over the burning wound on his cheek and tries to keep his gaze fixated on the ground.  
Fresh tears fall from his eyes no matter how hard he tries not to cry.

_This wasn't fair._

"Well? Are you gonna fuckin' listen to me or not?!"

Angel attempts to follow Valentino's orders.  
He lays back against the mattress, that was the easier part.

_Why won't he stop yet?_

Angel reached down with one of his hands, but froze when Valentino screamed at him again.  
"I told you to spread your god damn legs first!! God you fuckin' whores are so god damn stupid!"

_He has no right to speak to Angel like this!_

Angel turns his head to the side, wanting to be sure he can't make eye contact with Alastor.  
He never wanted Alastor, or _anyone_ for that matter, to see him like this.  
He listens to Valentino, and parts his legs a little, though having to do so more and more each time because Valentino decides that it's not "far enough apart".

Angel reaches a hand down again, trying to follow what Valentino has demanded him to do, but it only takes a few moments before Angel pulls his hand away.  
"I can't do this! Val please!"  
"Y'know, I am so fucking _tired_ of your bitching!! This is easy for you! why can't you do _anything_ right?!"

_Angel never deserved any of this._

"This is why I put you here!! You can't follow fucking instructions!!"  
"No I-"  
"I don't fucking care what you think!! You don't get to think, I _own_ you!!"

He kicked him.  
And then got down over him to hit him.  
And did it again.  
And again.  
And _again_.  
And...

  
The next thing Val knew was that he'd felt a hand on his shoulder, and as soon as he turned to look he found Alastor's fist knocking him straight to the ground.  
"THAT IS ENOUGH!!"

The room fell silent. Valentino was honestly a _little_ fearful of the situation now.  
He expected Alastor to obey completely.  
He can't just _break_ a deal!

"Hey you can't do that!! What did I tell you?! The deal is off if you don't fuckin' do as I say!"  
"Then the deal is _OFF_!!"

Alastor reached down to grab Valentino by his throat and shoved him roughly up against the nearest wall.  
"I don't care what you _think_ you're going to do, but Angel isn't _yours_ and he never was!! You are the filthiest god forsaken bug I have ever had the absolute displeasure of meeting!! You go on and on about how pathetic Angel is, but you? You are nothing more than a _loathsome_ , _detestable_ , _abhorrent_ _PARASITE_! And I will _NOT_ let you lay one more of your disgusting fingers on him!!"

  
Valentino was clearly in a panic, and Angel stared on, uncertain of how to react or feel at this moment.   
Valentino stumbled over his words, trying to find something he could say to pacify Alastor, though he was long past being able to be calmed.  
  
Angel stared at Alastor.   
A little confused, a little shocked that Alastor's entire demeanor changed so quickly.  
He could practically _see_ the desire in his eyes, to destroy Valentino.  
  
The thing that truly sent chills down Angel's spine though, was that Alastor was no longer _smiling_.

  
"Alastor, c'mon! We're both demon overlords! Let's uh... Let's just y'know, call it a day! You can take Angel, and uhh y'know, just forget about this whole thing with me! Sound good?"  
"No, actually it doesn't." His grip on Val's neck tightened.  
"Ack-! Listen c'mon, I know you don't really wanna do this! I mean, you can't just break a deal and- ... Wait... You... You _broke_ our deal.." Valentino pauses for a moment before his fear is all too quickly changed into a huge grin. He places his hands over Alastor's.  
"You broke a deal!!" He begins to cackle, and despite how _angry_ Alastor is, he lets go of Valentino's neck.  
Angel can't understand why.

"Yes, that's right. It's a good idea for you to let go of me now." Valentino brushes off his gaudy coat.  
"You can take Angel if you really want him that badly. I think I got a lot more than I wanted out of this deal!"

He makes his way towards the door, no longer seeming to view Alastor as some kind of force to be reckoned with.  
"If I were you I'd stay out of my way for a while!" Valentino laughs and steps out of the room.

  
He was right.  
Alastor broke a deal, and it wasn't his reputation that he was worried about.

But he puts a stop to his panicked thoughts for the moment.  
He came all this way to get Angel, and bring him home.  
That was what he was going to do.  
He'd worry about the rest afterwards

"Angel," His tone much softer now.  
"Let me take you back to the hotel."

He turns to look at Angel again. He appears to be perfectly normal again, and that similarly pleasing smile is back on his face.

Alastor extends a hand for Angel to take, and while he's hesitant at first, he still takes Alastor's hand.  
He just wanted to get out of here.

* * *

  
Once they're back at the hotel, Alastor waits patiently in Angel's bedroom, while Angel makes a beeline to the bathroom so he can finally clean himself.  
Angel had asked Alastor to stay in his bedroom for a little while.  
He was worried Valentino might come back, and Alastor was happy to agree to stay and wait.  
  


Angel was looking forward to _finally_ getting to bathe but... This time, a warm bath really didn't comfort him like it used to.  
  


When he returns, he's already climbing into bed, still unsure of what to say to Alastor, who is calmly standing in the bedroom.

There was a lot he wanted to say.  
A lot that they _both_ wanted to say.  
But for now, Angel just wanted to sleep.

The events from the last few days would surely plague his mind for years, and had he not been so completely exhausted, he probably wouldn't be able to get much sleep tonight.  
But, he was done in.   
The moment his head hit the pillow, he already seemed to be out.

  
Alastor sincerely felt relieved that Angel was home, and away from Valentino.  
This light hadn't gone out.

But this caused a significant amount of _different_ problems.

Alastor had broken a deal.  
Would Valentino tell the other overlords?  
Or would he use this as blackmail?

  
Either way, Alastor couldn't let anyone know about this.  
He'd have to make sure this never got out, not until he can find a way to fix it.

Otherwise, he'd be a walking target.

  
But...

Something about knowing Angel was here, safe at last, brought him some peace of mind.   
Despite everything.

  
The evening went on, and Alastor remained awake throughout the night, trying to think of something, _anything_ to fix what he had done to himself.

There was a whole new nightmare awaiting him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was actually really challenging for me to write (which is why this one took me so much longer to write than the others) so I really hope I managed to do alright! 
> 
> Again, big thank you to everyone who has been reading and giving me words of encouragement to continue! Thanks so much!!


	10. Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few days since the incident, and Angel had been struggling to carry himself through the aftermath.  
> Alastor feels that he needs to do what he can to make Angel's life a little easier, and the two end up sitting and doing some more, much needed talking, and Alastor begins to understand that Angel means something special to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty relaxed chapter! Mainly dialogue between Alastor and Angel! They have a bit of talking they need to do. c:

It had been a few days since Alastor had brought Angel back to the hotel, away from that awful place.

Angel spent all of those days in his room, often snuggled beside his pet pig Fat Nuggets.  
Angel had been so relieved to find that Fat Nuggets was okay.  
  
Alastor actually found that initial moment quite special.

How just purely _happy_ Angel was when he realized Fat Nuggets was home and _alive_.  
Since then, he and the little pig had been beside each other constantly.   
Completely inseparable.  
  


Unfortunately, it was one of the only times Alastor saw any normal reaction from Angel since they got back.

Angel spoke very little, and it wasn't that he _didn't_ want to talk, it was more like... He just _couldn't_.

There was so much for him to sort out in his head.  
So many things he was worried about.  
So many things he needed to ask Alastor.

Everything felt overwhelming.

All he could manage was sitting on his bed, with Fat Nuggets in his arms, usually quietly watching the television in his room.  
Occasionally he would be up texting Cherri, but when she asked about dropping by to check on him, he declined the offer every time.  
He just wasn't really ready to be around anyone just yet.

Alastor _was_ around though. But this was a little different.  
Alastor kept his distance, often just standing beside the doorway.  
He didn't speak to Angel, he didn't try to bother him in any way, he just let Angel be.  
He seemed to pick up on when Angel wanted to be completely alone as well, and when he noticed it, he would quietly leave the bedroom and stand out in the hallway instead.

  
Over these last couple days, Alastor was either in, or near Angel's room.  
He still felt he needed to be here to wait, and watch.  
To keep Angel safe this time.  
At least until he understood how he felt a little better.

Angel didn't _dislike_ Alastor's frequent company either.  
There was something comforting about him being there to ... Sort of _watch over_ him like this.  
He hadn't said anything, but he appreciated it.

Angel was given the space, and silence that he wanted to relax, recover, and think.

However, Angel did eventually need to venture outside of his hotel room to find some food to eat.  
He'd wait it out as long as he could, and when he did eat, he ate very little.  
It wasn't really enough to sustain himself.

Still, he preferred this if it meant staying curled up in bed in the safety of his room.

Alastor, on the other hand, didn't like this very much.

After three weeks of this, and noticing Angel was only eating less and less over this time, Alastor took things into his own hands and decided to cook something for him.

  
As always, he gently knocked on the door and spoke calmly "It's just me!" before entering the room.

Angel seemed like he was in somewhat better spirits today.  
Usually if he was up watching tv that was a good sign, as opposed to him staying curled up in bed while staring at the wall.

"Good afternoon Angel! I noticed you haven't really been eating very much lately, so I thought you might appreciate a nice home cooked meal!"

Alastor steps into the room with a circular tray in one hand.   
A top this tray was a nice sized plate of pancakes and eggs, a small bowl with a cut up fresh assortment of fruit, and a tall glass of orange juice.  
The smell of the food was as just as good as it looked, and it was enough to actually make Angel realize just how _hungry_ he really was.

"Uh... Wow... Al this is kinda not... Necessary, y'know?" Angel smiles a little, but when he spoke his voice sounded so _weak_ and that alone made something in Alastor kind of _hurt_.  
It was the first time Alastor had really heard Angel speak since they got back to the hotel.

"Oh, it was no trouble Angel! Please, go ahead and eat. I'm sure you're very hungry by now." 

Alastor places the tray down on the bed near Angel, and although hesitant at first, Angel only needed to take one sip of the orange juice and then proceeded to scarf down most of the meal.

"Oh my god, this is so fucking good..!" Honestly, he was already feeling better now that he was getting something in his system other than ice pops or chips.

"It pleases me to know you're enjoying it," Alastor smiles sweetly.   
It was a relief to see Angel talking a little now.   
  
"Angel, might I ask how you're feeling..?"

Angel pauses for a minute, deciding how to answer before continuing. He supposed he's feeling better than _before_ , but it wasn't so much the physical pain and discomfort that was still bothering him.  
It was the memories, and the fear that he felt then.  
Thing's he couldn't easily erase from his mind.  
Still, he didn't want Alastor to worry, if he even _could_ worry about someone like him.

  
"Oh... Um... I'm fine. I've been sleepin' half the time, sounds pretty good right?" He forces a small smile and finishes off the last of his food before continuing.  
"You didn't uh... You didn't tell any of them right? About where I was, and... All that stuff that happened?"

Alastor shakes his head.  
"No. I assumed you'd prefer to keep that a secret."  
"Yeah... Just keep it all between us okay?"  
"Of course."

The room falls quiet shortly thereafter, an uneasy air as both wish to speak to one another, but are unsure where to start.

Angel wanted to know why Alastor came all the way out there to help him. Their deal had been completed, and there was no further reason for Alastor to involve himself with Angel.   
So why?  
  
And then he broke a deal too.  
Angel didn't know what that meant, but the way that Valentino and Alastor acted that night made it clear it was _not_ something good for Alastor.  
So why?  
Why did he risk anything for Angel?   
Even now, he stayed nearby Angel, giving him space, but never completely abandoning him.

Alastor had his own things to speak to Angel about.  
Of course, he wanted to know if Angel would be alright.  
What he'd been going through, what he _just_ went through...   
They were awful experiences, and though he didn't have answers as to why, Alastor wanted to be able to help Angel recover in any way that he could.  
But that only scratched the surface.  
Alastor had a _lot_ of things to ask Angel.  
A lot of questions. A lot to discuss.  
But despite the three weeks that had passed, he still felt Angel may not be up to any serious conversations.

Alastor continued to consider his options, but Angel ended up speaking first.  
"Um... Al?"  
"Yes?"  
"I uh... Well... I mean I wanted to thank you... Y'know... For gettin' me out of there... I... I think Val was going to leave me there... Like... For good."  
"Oh, no worries Angel! It was the very least I could do for you!"  
"... Why?"  
"I'm sorry?"  
"Why did you help me?"  
"Oh... Well... I couldn't just _leave_ you there."  
"Yeah, but _why_? You were only around me for that deal we had before right? But it was over. Why did you bother coming for me?"

Alastor froze for a moment. This was a question that even _he_ was still trying to find the answer to.  
So far he had decided that Angel was like this special, precious light that somehow still survived down here in hell.  
It made him feel _different_ and he wanted to keep Angel around him longer until he could better understand what it was that he was feeling.  
But he couldn't just _say_ that. It sounded ridiculous.

Still, Angel had asked him, and he needed to have an answer.  
Maybe... Maybe by talking he would sort of... Just... Figure it all out.  
It would be a start.

"Well I... If you want me to be completely honest I don't _really_ know why I wanted to help you."

He already felt bad by giving this answer, because Angel's expression seemed to get just a little more sad.

"But you see, I've been trying to understand why myself! Um... Well I suppose if I had to name a few things I... Well I did find myself missing our conversations. When we were on the dates, you know?"

He certainly didn't feel like he was doing a good job of explaining things.

"You were interesting to speak with. I enjoyed it. You can be quite charming and... Sometimes when you talk about your little pet you get so _genuinely_ excited... You're... Surprisingly quite _real_."

Angel isn't sure how to take that statement.   
He crosses a pair of his arms over his chest and tilts his head ever so slightly.  
" _Real?_ What do you mean _real?_ "  
"Oh, it's not a bad thing Angel! Truly! Most people I knew in life, and so many that I've known now in death... They say and do things because they think that they _should_ , not so much because it is something they want."

This was complicated.

"I understand there are... Certain things... That you keep to yourself, but I find that it's just... Very _easy_ to talk to you. I know that when I ask you about something, you're more likely to be honest with me. It's..."

He trailed off, trying to think of where his thoughts were getting to, when it really started to all come together.

"You're not afraid to speak to me. You talk to me like an equal. No one talks to me like that here."

Angel seems to light up a little at Alastor's words. A smile forms on his face, and it somehow relieves Alastor a little bit.  
"No offense to all your 'overlord-y' powers and shit, but I spent years stuck with Val. Nothin' can beat that!" 

Angel leans back against the bed's headboard, clearly seeming much more relaxed than he was just a few moments earlier.  
Good.  
The conversation was actually going pretty well then.

"So then uh... So you actually _liked_ hangin' out with me?"  
Though his tone was a little more light-hearted now, there was a certain seriousness to his question.

"Yes. I enjoyed your company quite a lot actually. If it's alright, I hope that we can continue to talk with each other when you're feeling up to it." 

  
There was something about the way Angel smiled that made Alastor feel kind of _warm_. (And it wasn't just because they were in hell either.)   
He didn't react much outside of the smile he'd given, but it was clear that Alastor's words meant a lot to Angel.

"Aw, I can't believe it! Smiles actually likes talkin' to me!"   
"Yes I... Suppose I could say I might actually care about your well being."  
"Okay, well... I think I can say I'd be pretty fuckin' bummed out if I stopped seein' you around too."

  
Angel moves the food tray to sit on top of the nightstand beside his bed.  
"So uh... You mind if I ask you somethin'?"  
"Not at all. What do you want to ask?"  
"What um... What happened back there..? ... Like... When you broke that deal with Val..?"

Alastor sighs and nods.  
"A big mess. That's what happened." 

Angel frowns a little. He can't help but feel like some of this had to have been his fault.   
Of course, Alastor acted all on his own, but still, this felt like something Angel had caused.

There's a silence in the air between them now.  
Angel worried, not just that it was his fault, but also about what this might mean for Alastor.  
And Alastor, well... He worried too.  
He worried about what this meant for him, but he worried how he might be able to protect Angel, this special light, now that he's done this.

. . . . .  
  


"Al?"  
"Yes?"  
"...Are you gonna be okay?"

Alastor looks at Angel, his eyes widen a little.   
He's... quite surprised by Angel's question.   
  
They were obviously a little more than quintessences now, maybe something like awkward friends?   
Even so, it was odd to see any single soul in hell be genuinely concerned about someone else's well being.  
And not only that, but Angel was expressing concern for _Alastor's_ well being.

"Oh I... Yes. Yes, I will be just fine Angel. You've no need to be worried." He smiles sweetly.  
"Okay... So what does breaking a deal even mean for you? I mean... When _you_ break it."

Alastor only smiles and shakes his head.  
"Oh, it's really nothing! As I said, no need to be concerned!" 

Actually, it was a _lot_ for Alastor to be concerned about, but he had no desire to make Angel worry even more than he already seemed to be.

"Now, let's stop worrying about all of that other stuff, alright? Hm... I know! Why don't you tell me how you and your little pet pig found each other?"

Angel's eyes light up, and he sits more upright, clearly excited to tell his story about his beloved companion Fat Nuggets.

"Oh yeah!! You wouldn't know! Okay, so it was a couple years ago.."

* * *

  
The day went by relatively quickly from there.   
Angel and Alastor had spent the day talking to one another in Angel's room for a while until it was clear that Angel was getting tired, and Alastor insisted he get some rest.

He assured Angel he would stay in the hotel so that Angel could come find him if he felt the need to go see him.  
Angel seemed comfortable with the offer, and when he laid down for the night, Alastor left, and entered the hotel room that had been set aside for himself. (Though he didn't use it that often.)

Once inside, he sat at the edge of his bed, feeling incredibly lost.

What was he going to do now?  
He would now no longer have the same power he did before.   
It still existed, yes, but not with the same strength and deadliness it once had.  
Breaking his own deal meant standing off against other overlords likely meant the end of him.

That wasn't the only problems it caused either.  
There was more to worry about.

Breaking a deal with another demon, meant Alastor was _indebted_ to them, and when he was indebted to another demon for breaking his own deal like this, he would have to obey _any_ request they made of him, and he would be unable to harm them.  
If he chose not to obey them, or attack them, he would never gain back all of the power he'd just lost.  
He needed to get that power back... He was in danger without it if anyone else found out.  
But in this (unfortunate) case, that demon he was indebted to, was none other than Valentino.

How was he supposed to get around this?  
And how was he supposed to protect Angel at the same time?

He gave a heavy sigh. This was all becoming so frustrating!

He cared about Angel, and protecting him. And yet, it was something he _shouldn't_ care about!

Angel was different though.  
Angel had this light about him.  
This _warmth_ that felt familiar.

He had a kindness that was desperately trying to survive in a world of torment and despair.

And despite _all_ of it, Angel could still smile.  
He could still laugh.

Angel made him feel _different_.

Angel made him feel like...

Like...

His eyes widen as the realization hits him.

  
He... He did like Angel.  
He _cared_ about Angel.  
And he wanted to be there for him.

Angel meant enough to him, that he had broken his own deal, and put himself in severe danger as a result.

. . .

Somehow...

Somehow, he didn't regret it all either.

He didn't regret helping Angel.

  
Things would be different now.

At the very least, he considered Angel someone important to him.  
A friend maybe?  
It didn't matter that much right now.

The _only_ thing he wanted at the moment, was to keep seeing Angel smiling, and laughing.

He would worry about the rest later.

Angel was his priority.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who has still been reading!! I'm really hoping this fic is coming out alright too! I'm not sure how long it will end up being, but I do plan on seeing this through!


	11. Far Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel tries to find a way to make things feel more normal again, but nothing really works.  
> So now what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to come out!  
> I've been having a hard time thinking of what to write lately, but I really appreciate everyone's patience!

Weeks had went by, but things remained quiet.  
No word or signs of Valentino coming after them, and Alastor began to think that _maybe_ they were fortunate, and Valentino could have completely forgotten about everything.  
Maybe he had bigger things to deal with.

These past quiet weeks proved to be incredibly helpful for Angel to slowly start feeling more like himself again too.  
It would certainly be a long way for him to go before any of those bad memories really felt like just _memories_ , but it was a start.

Alastor had also decided to make it routine to show up to Angel's room every morning with breakfast, where they'd then sit and talk with each other for a while.  
When they'd run out of things that they felt were worth talking about at the time, Alastor would sit quietly in Angel's room unless Angel requested otherwise.

  
Though, a day did come where he thought Angel might have actually wanted to say something about what had been going on between he and Valentino.  
They'd been sitting silently for a couple of minutes, when Angel eventually spoke.

"Hey Al..? Do you uh... You know anything about what happens after this place?"

Alastor looked at Angel, a little confused, but Angel could answer before he could ask about it.  
"I mean after hell. Like... If any of us down here y'know... Got killed again? What happens?"

Alastor shook his head.  
"Ah. I'm afraid not even I know what happens to souls that die a second time."  
"You think it's just nothing? Like... Like before we were born?"

Alastor couldn't answer. How could he?  
He truly didn't know what could await the unlucky soul that seemed to die a _second_ time.  
He couldn't even really imagine it either.  
There were definitely unlucky souls that seemingly "died" but what that meant was completely unknown to him.

Angel looked down at this hands that had been laying idly in his lap.  
"Or maybe it would be worse than here..."

Alastor still remains silent, uncertain about how to answer Angel.  
Why was he wondering about what happens in dying down here?  
Was he worried about Valentino?

"Angel I... I am aware that thing's may still feel quite complicated, but you really don't have to worry as much about any of those circumstances. Valentino won't be that much of a threat, I-"  
"What do you mean, he won't be a threat?!"

Angel was looking at him now, an expression that showed all kinds of emotions, anger, sadness, fear.  
He... Hadn't quite expected this reaction.  
Angel had been so quiet lately, hearing him shout was... Strange.  
He needed a better choice of words.

"It doesn't matter what I do! Valentino _always_ finds me! No matter how far I fuckin' run, no matter where I try to fuckin' hide, and you think he's not a threat anymore?!"  
"Angel listen, it's been a few weeks and nothing has happened right? So all I'm saying is that-" But he's cut off again.

"So? That doesn't mean nothing is going to happen forever! You don't _know_ how this goes!! How often have you dealt with Val, huh? Did you see that goddamn place he locked me in!? And you think he's going to let someone walk out with something he owns?!"  
"Angel, please listen, he doesn't own you. That's just something he's tried to put into your head, you don't belong to anyone, not even V-" He wasn't exactly cut off this time, but he stopped when Angel started moving.

  
Angel slid to sit on the edge of the bed, then pulled up the long shirt more on his right side, allowing for a more visible view of one of his thighs.  
He shifted slightly to be sure that Alastor could see exactly what he was trying to make a point about.

The awful mark that was branded into his skin, all against his will, done completely by Valentino himself.

"He owns me."

His voice was cold and distant now.

Alastor stood silently, unsure what to say, or how to react.  
Despite how Angel's body was covered in a soft white fur, Alastor could still make out the mark against his thigh.  
The fur there had been singed and though it had been some time since he'd received the mark, it stayed abnormally clear.  
He had to wonder if it was some trait of Valentino's that he could use against others.

When Angel was sure Alastor had been convinced enough, Angel sat normally on the bed again, and pulled the side of his shirt back down.

"This isn't just for Val's stupid show of fucking power or intimidation. He's an overlord. He marked me with this and it means he knows where I am all the time. Him not popping up now just means he's just... He's just fucking _playing_ with me! I'm not safe. I was never safe."

Alastor continues to stand in silence for a few more moments, but eventually made his way to Angel, and sat beside him on the bed.  
Still, he couldn't find anything to say to him.  
He wanted to speak, he wanted to find a way to assure Angel he would be fine, but how could he say that?  
Alastor couldn't guarantee Angel's safety at the moment.   
True, Alastor had been here to watch over Angel more-or-less, but he had no clue what Valentino may or may not do and how well he might actually be able to deal with whatever it was.

Angel, on the other hand, began to feel like maybe he'd just been making himself sound ridiculous.  
He wasn't _trying_ to be angry with Alastor.  
He wasn't angry at him at all.  
He was just... Tired.  
Tired of feeling hurt, and angry, and sad and scared.  
He couldn't take much more of this cycle that had been repeating itself for _years_ , and the hardest part was that it really just seemed to get _worse_.

Angel takes a deep breath to try and calm himself down.  
"Al, no offense, but... Don't you have like... Big crazy overlord shit to be doin'? You can't waste all your days tryin' to look out for me and my dumb shit."  
Changing the subject from Valentino back to Alastor made things a little easier on him.  
He didn't want to think about Valentino anymore, or what he did, or what he was going to do.

Still, Angel's question was another complicated one on Angel's part.  
Alastor might not exactly _qualify_ as an Overlord anymore, but he didn't want to tell Angel.  
He didn't want to add to the ever growing plate of worries the other had.

"Ah, don't worry. I'm doing what I want to do, alright?"  
"Okay..."

After a few more moments of silence, Angel stood up from the bed and made his way to his closet to go through a few clothes.  
His pet pig Fat Nuggets stood nearby him, staring up at him curiously.

"Angel? Might I ask what you're up to?"  
"I... Think staying in my room all this time is gettin' to me," He looks back at Alastor for a moment, a weary smile on his face.  
"I wanna head downstairs and I dunno... Maybe get a drink at the bar we got down there."

Alastor gives a nod and stands up from the bed as well.  
"I'll meet you down there then." He smiled (more sincerely now) and left Angel's bedroom.

Now alone again, Angel stopped going through his closet.  
His hands lightly trailed down one of the outfits he had hanging up, and a sad sigh escapes his lips.

"What am I supposed to do? Never leave the hotel..?"

Fat Nuggets gently bumps his head against Angel's leg and as expected, it gets his attention.  
Angel can't help but smile just a little when he sees his precious pet and kneels down long enough to pick him up and hold him in his arms.

Despite not being able to really speak and understand each other, Angel could feel the love and concern his most precious companion had for him.

Words didn't need to be spoken though.  
Angel knew what Fat Nuggets would have wanted to say to him.

He feels the warmth of tears forming in his eyes, and gently pulled Fat Nuggets a little closer into a hug.   
He'd been holding back a lot.

He was thankful to have Fat Nuggets.

* * *

After a little while, Angel had come down, dressed normally and seemed to still act just as he always did.  
It was easy for everyone else to assume there was nothing happening out of the ordinary, aside from worrying where he'd been lately.  
However, Angel assured everyone else he was fine and just had a cold or something like that.

Though, despite everything that had been going on, a little socializing _did_ feel kind of good for him.  
It'd been a long time since he really left his room, let alone talked to anyone else in the hotel.  
Things felt... Like normal.  
Like a _good_ normal.

Though as it got later, and most of the hotel staff had dispersed, it eventually just became the two of them again.  
Angel and Alastor.  
  


Alastor stood quietly, watching Angel (wanting to make sure he had some space) who appeared to be lost in thought now.

Angel was now sitting on the couch in the lobby, his gaze fixated towards the main doors.  
With the return of the uncomfortable silence, Angel had nothing left to really keep his mind away from thinking about the possibility that Valentino could come in through those doors at any time. There wasn't enough alcohol in the entirety of hell to make him forget his troubles.

How could he keep feeling normal when things were not even _close_ to being normal now?  
There was no escape for him.  
There was no way out.

So now what?

"Angel?"  
"Hm?"

Angel is pulled from his trance and looks back towards the bar, where Alastor has since approached him, and sat on the other end of the couch.

"Is something on your mind?"

Angel forced a small smile and leaned back against the couch more, adjusting his body to turn away from the large pair of doors that seemed to haunt him.

"Well shit Al, where do I begin?" He makes a half-hearted laugh and sighs looking down at his hands that are folded in his lap.

"I think I messed up too much. Well... When I was alive I mean. 'Cause look where I am!" He gestured to their surroundings briefly.  
"Look what happened... What keeps _happening_."

He sits silently for a few more moments, before he felt the need to look back at the doors again.  
There was something different about Angel now.  
The tiniest sparkle of hope that had once flickered in his eyes was gone.  
It was as if the bright whites and pinks of his fur seemed almost dull.  
And the way that he spoke, he seemed so far away now.  
Angel seemed like he'd been defeated for the last time, and it was the next few words he said that made Alastor think that maybe, he'd really been too late.

  
_"Sometimes I feel like my time is running out."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty short chapter, but I wanted to get something posted soon AND I really wanted to have this stop right here because the next chapter(s) will more than likely start marking the beginning-of-the-end for this fic.   
> But for now, I really hope you've enjoyed so far!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading if you've read this far! This is still being worked on, so thanks for your patience!


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